


I Was The Match and You Were the Rock, Maybe We Started This Flame

by Velocity_Owl87



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Blood and Injury, Character Death Fix, Comfort/Angst, Complicated Relationships, Families of Choice, Friends to Lovers, Hidden Depths, Multi, Politics, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-16
Updated: 2014-05-16
Packaged: 2018-01-15 22:45:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1322020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Velocity_Owl87/pseuds/Velocity_Owl87
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been two years since Jaz Becket died in the line of duty and her sister became a trainer for the PPDC, knowing full well that she could only do so much to keep Yancy from the front lines as the war dragged on. </p><p>Herc Hansen feels the same, but has his hands full with helping run the PPDC as well as keeping an eye on his younger brother, his son and Raleigh herself. </p><p>But now, more pilots are needed, new Jaegers are built and turmoil threatens the PPDC in the form of the Kaiju themselves, budget threats and a ever-steadily complacent humanity. </p><p>The tides are starting to turn and Raleigh, Herc and the others will have to decide what they will do to not be swept away alongside them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. We Have To Get This Started. Now.

**Author's Note:**

> Not exactly a direct sequel to "I Was Standing, You Were There. Two Worlds Collided", but it turned out I was writing the other one and this one at the same time and it kiind of turned into a sequel of sorts. 
> 
> In this one, I'm looking more at the mechanics of how the PPDC would possibly run before we get into the Kaiju stomping. It will follow the plotline a bit parallel to canon, but I will play with the Jaegers and their pilots a bit. 
> 
> Has been proofed and title is from Bastille's "Things we lost in the fire."

_Raleigh turned to look at Jaz right after they had destroyed Knifehead. She was smiling back at him, her eyes crinkling at the corners as she did. It was her favourite smile of her sister's. Jaz had so many smiles, but that was the one that she couldn't fake. Especially not now, not in front of the person that she knew inside out and trusted with her life._

_Her eyes widened at the exact moment that they both heard the crunch and screech of metal as Knifehead tore open the pod. Jaz knew, even before Raleigh was able to reach out to Jaz, that it was over._

_Raleigh could see it the way that Jaz's face went black and she reached out to Raleigh one last time before she was ripped out and away from her, while Raleigh screamed her throat raw and reached out at nothing._

_Only the pitch blackness and the icy cold remained and she heard Jaz. Just one last word-_

Her eyes flew open and Raleigh sat up in bed, her tank top drenched in sweat and her heart thumping so fast she was afraid that she was going to have a heart-attack right then and there. She gulped in air harshly and scrubbed at her face, running her hands roughly through the sweaty, snarled length her hair had clumped into.

Raleigh glanced at her alarm clock, hoping that it was time to get up and get ready for training and gave a small prayer of thanks that it was the case. She had woken up only with twenty minutes to spare before her alarm went off. A small blessing, since she didn't think she could bear to lie in the dark and torment herself with the memories of Jaz dying again.

Especially not today, of all days.

As she cursed the day, she glanced over her shoulder. Yancy was, as always, out cold and huddled deep inside his nest of blankets. Although it was usually a pain to wake him up for training, this time she was relieved that he had slept through her nightmares. He didn't need to worry about her now that his big day had arrived.

It pained her to admit it, but he wasn't her baby brother any longer and he was as good of a pilot as she could hope to train. He was ready and despite her lingering reservations, she wasn't going to stand in the way of his dreams. He was eighteen and the stakes had been upped. The Science Department had predicted the movement of Kaijus and their possible evolution and they needed all of the operational Jaegers that they could get their hands on as well as move pilots up.

The past two years had almost turned into a war of attrition and she was all too keenly aware that the world was falling into complacency. They were winning more battles than they were losing, but Raleigh was all too aware, via Herc and Scott, that it was far from over. The council was starting to pull back after being put under pressure from activists and other lobby groups. Proposals were being made to deal with the remaining Kaiju. Cheaper and less elite proposals that were starting to gain traction and favour with the people who didn't have their families torn apart or their lands destroyed by Kaiju Blue.

Something had to give and Raleigh didn't want to think about what exactly that could be. The PPDC was all she and Yancy knew. What Herc and Chuck and Scott had to glue them together after Scissure and Sidney had happened. What Tendo and Mako and The Marshall had to keep them sane and in one piece. If it was gone, she suspected that they didn't have much else to keep them focused and not self-destructing.

Raleigh and Herc had discussed it after the meeting with the council, who was starting to show signs of balking at giving the PPDC the funding that it needed to have to keep the war going. Even Scott had looked worried and Raleigh knew that it took a whole lot to get him looking grim. Herc himself hadn't said anything then. But afterwards, when they had moved into his office, he hadn't kept quiet.

“We have to let them go for the trials and make the council shut their gobs about the money not being put to good use. We have to get more Jaegers out there and smack those fucking Kaiju down before they get any chances to cause damage to the coastal cities we have left.” He had told her as he had loosened his tie and hung up his dress jacket with care.

Raleigh sighed as she too, loosened her tie and pulled her braid out of the bun she put it in for those meetings. She kicked off her heels before she turned to reply. She knew who he was referring to. She had known the time was coming the minute she had filed the latest performance reports.

“I know. I don't want to, but with Eureka coming into production and Gipsy being restored, we need them. And unfortunately, they are in the top percentile of the academy.”

She agreed, smiling ruefully as she took off her jacket and placed it on the desk for easy access.

“Admit it. You'd be disappointed if that wasn't the case.” Herc replied as he followed suit.

He normally would have tossed his clothes over the chair carelessly and Raleigh would have followed his lead. But he had other meetings to attend and Raleigh had a class to go in about an hour after the meetings. Her presence was required as a supposed liaison, but she knew that Herc and the Marshall required her there to keep the council from back-pedalling too much whenever the issue of funding came up. She wasn't exactly thrilled about the boring meetings she had to be at, but whenever she saw the relief on Herc's face right after and how the tension would flow out of him once they were out and on his ratty couch...She couldn't help but to grudgingly admit that being the figurehead was worth it in the end.

“Of course I would be. But they're still young. Much too young to be fighting this war alongside us.” She winced and shook her head. She wasn't really part of it any longer. She could go in again, she knew the door was wide open now that her girl was back up and operational. But she couldn't bring herself to climb into a Jaeger again.

Despite the imprint of Jaz having nearly completely faded, the dreams were still there as was the ache of Jaz being irrevocably gone. She couldn't deal with having someone in her head again. She knew too, that it was quite likely if she did decide to be a pilot again, she'd be compatible with Yancy and the idea of losing her only remaining sibling while still connected was more than she could bear. So she firmly refused and played the part she had been dealt. A part that included making the PPDC get money and basically sell her image as the face of the PPDC.

If it meant less hassle for him and the Marshall and the PPDC still running despite the rumblings about cutting funding and the incredibly worthless idea of an anti-Kaiju wall going up, she'd do it. Besides, she always got a quickie after and that incentive was always worth it. So she followed suit and folded up her own dress blues and neatly stacked them on the chair before turning around and being grabbed by Herc, who picked her up and placed her on the couch, his hands eager as they skimmed her sides while his mouth claimed hers.

Recalling that interlude with a fond smile, she shook her head and frowned when the memories were tangled with the lingering memories of her sister. She didn't need this shit. Not now. Not when it was such a big day and she needed to get herself and Yancy ready.

Sighing heavily, Raleigh forced all of those memories and doubts to the back of her mind as she got out of bed and padded over to the bathroom, pausing only to stop and press her fingers to the picture of her and Jaz that Yancy had tacked on there. Right above the painted kaiju heads and the rest of the pictures, faded polaroids that showed her, Jaz and Yancy in different places.

“Miss you, sis.” She murmured before she walked into the bathroom and shut the door with more force than it actually needed.

~*~*~*~*~

“These are the candidates?” Stacker asked Tendo Choi as he handed him and Herc Hansen clipboards with the list of the cadets that had graduated in the top percentiles. Scott Hansen was standing with Raleigh at the far end along with the other instructors as they kept a careful eye on the proceedings. Herc himself was there to veto or agree on any of the candidates and to also keep a close eye on Scott, since he wouldn't put it past his brother to try and make a pass at Raleigh. He didn't know about Herc and Raleigh being in some sort of agreement and Scott had openly admitted that he wouldn't mind bedding Raleigh as he had done with her sister. Herc had done his best to keep them separated and he suspected that Raleigh herself didn't seem to be keen on the idea, but at that moment, neither of them could do anything without coming clean about their murky arrangement.

Herc frowned, but didn't react. They both had to be there, with Raleigh keeping an eye on her cadets and with Scott was around in a similar capacity and also as the PR liaison. Not when duty beckoned and not when he wasn't sure where he really stood with Raleigh. They had something. But neither of them had put a name to it and neither was really moving to do so. At least not when the war was still going on at full throttle.

“Yep. All of them queued up like you asked.” Tendo replied, tapping his pen down the list of at least twenty-four names, all tallied up by their rankings.

“We should take the younger ones off.” Stacker commented neutrally as he skimmed the names.

“They'd have our heads if we were sending all the kids out.” He commented, making Herc wonder if there was some hope of keeping Chuck back still. He looked up from his clipboard to Raleigh and wished that he could tell her that it was going to be done by age. Chuck and Yancy were at the bottom of the spectrum. If it was decided that way...

“Hold off on that just yet. Horizon and Tacit are still good. Gipsy is nearly fixed up and Eureka is on its way to being tested in battle. We just need six to eight rangers. It's not a big pool to pick from and there's also compatibility to look at. We don't need to be hasty about who gets to pilot yet.” Tendo pointed out calmly, despite his inner turmoil at having to hand both Stacker and Hansen the lists. Mako and Chuck's names are on there. Yancy Becket was straddling the final cut by the grace of being too damned young by a few months. Tendo was sure that Raleigh would have loved to make the tilt in the other direction if she was aware of how close it was. But she didn't and thus Yancy's name remained on the list.

Tendo didn't blame her. Raleigh wasn't the only one that missed Jazmine Becket with the intensity of a burning sun. But Raleigh never knew that. And with luck, she never would.

He cleared his throat and continued on, his momentary lapse not commented on by the others.

“We have a small pool as it is and it's not just the physical component that you have to look at here. It's whether they can make it in the drift that will make them a pilot.”

He pointed out, making both Herc and Stacker relax just a fraction. Experience could work both ways for both Mako and Chuck. More than likely, it would hinder them and put them back in the pool for the next trials. Whenever that would be.

But Tendo was wholly aware that neither of his superiors wanted for Mako and Chuck to be in the front running of this testing phase. Tendo didn't blame them for wanting to hold them back and keep them safe until they figured out a way to end the Kaijus once and for all. But he knew that they straddled a fine line between duty and persona desires and would more than likely do what was needed to fight a war. Despite privately regretting the consequences of their choices.

“He's right, Stacker. It's not set in stone and if it does happen, they have to go.” Herc replied, his voice not betraying anything.

Herc was still piloting Lucky Seven with his brother, who was not only known for his skills as a Ranger, but as womanizer and being as persuasive as Satan when trying to acquire a soul. Scott Hansen was a piece of work and Tendo had to admit that he would be nervous if he had to rely on a brother like that to watch his back. But it looked like Herc was fine with it and so far it had worked well and his worries were all for nothing. Besides, Herc knew his brother far too well and it they worked, he wasn't going to question it.

Stacker gave them a sidelong glance that could have had any wealth of meanings and only walked ahead to the kwoon where the trials were to be held. Tendo and Herc exchanged a look before they followed him. Neither of them looked at the candidates. They only kept their eyes trained on Stacker's back as they waited for the trials to begin.

 


	2. These Could Be The Things Lost In The Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The New Rangers have been chosen, Scott Hansen needs to play nice with the media while Yancy and Chuck need to know what their respective families feel about them being appointed as Rangers.

“So what's the damage so far? Are you pleased with the results?” Scott asked as he flipped his pen in his hand and waited. He had a clipboard on his lap and his suit jacket was rumpled and despite that, he still looked like he could handle the salivating press that was waiting for a report on the trials. Despite Scott Hansen's flippant demeanour, there was a tightness around his eyes that hinted at worry over his nephew's status. Despite the veneer, Stacker knew that Scott cared about Chuck in his own disaffected way.

Herc was with the new cadets, briefing them before they were to be announced to the public as the new Jaeger Pilots. As much as Stacker hated having to pander to the public, he was damned well aware it was a necessity. Scott's question was going to be asked in numerous ways, he needed to get his thoughts together and answer in order for Scott to get some kind of statement ready.

Stacker frowned at the results that were placed on his desk and simply steepled his fingers in front of his face as he contemplated them.

Tacit and Horizon had gotten new pilots, as was to be expected and he had been utterly relieved that Ramos and Ochoa had made the trials. The Phillipines and Chile had been fairly vocal about pouring in money and not seeing results for their purchases. Although it was a fair sentiment, Stacker couldn't help but to be inwardly disgusted by how they could easily trade lives for prestige and justification for fighting a war that affected them so strongly.

Gerrard and Konishi had made it for Tacit and Herc had been pleased about that happening, since Australia was perilously close to making the idiotic making of the anti-Kaiju wall, despite saying that they would wait for results from the science division that was headed by the doctors Geizler and Gottlieb. Now, they would have to back off and the blessed respite would give them capital, time and support that was needed to make another push. The science division was working overtime now that Geizler had made a breakthrough with Kaiju physiology. Gottlieb himself was just behind in predicting the appearances.

Stacker made a mental note to talk to them sooner, rather than later. He needed to know whether they could figure out when an attack would occur and whether they could move ahead with eradicating the Kaiju once and for all. But right now, he needed to give Scott the rundown.

“Tacit and Horizon have new pilots. It should give us some leeway with our louder council members and hopefully revert their votes from the proposed wall.”

Scott grinned, making him look like a less than friendly shark as he scribbled a couple of notes in his loose, sloppy hand.

“I can guess at those. So we have four of the pilots. Who else made it?”

“Becket and Hansen. Miss Mori and Kovacks. Becket and Hansen are reserves, due to their age and Eureka is earmarked for them. Miss Mori and Kovacks will be in Gipsy once the reparations are complete.”

Stacker sat back and counted backward as he waited for the inevitable barrage of questions and snide remarks that always punctuated an exchange with Scott Hansen.

Scott's eyes widened, then narrowed as he wrote down the names.

“Becket and Hansen, huh? What have Raleigh and my brother said about the news?”

Stacker only gave him a cool look, making Scott whistle softly through his teeth and shake his head as he made even more notes in preparation for the press statement he would make before the Marshall and Herc made the media gauntlet.

“I know that we're in a war for survival and we need every body we have. But the boys? Mako?”

Stacker's mouth thinned as he sat back in his chair and pressed his hands flat on the desk.

“They're the best out of the corps. It isn't nepotism to appoint them as Rangers when they earned their posts.”

Scott's jaw tightened at that. “Yeah? Is that what you're planning to tell Raleigh and my brother when you hand them the flags to place on empty coffins?”

If it scored a hit, Scott didn't see it.

“She, out of everyone, would understand. She's made her choices before. She knows what is at stake.” Stacker replied crisply.

“Well, I hope for everyone's sake she's that sanguine when she has to send out her little brother to the front-lines. I know that if she hadn't been drugged up to her eyeballs, she would have had a fit when you were about to court-martial her and her sister for the Miracle Mile.”

Stacker's cheek twitched at that and despite the respect Scott held for the man, he was childishly pleased to have scored a hit.

That had been one of the few times that he and Tendo Choi had to restrain Herc from actually coming at his superior once Stacker had put out the possibility of slapping the Becket sisters with a court-martial in lieu of their actions on the Miracle Mile.

“You would do that to those Rangers after all they had done?! You'd throw her away like so much detritus and tarnish the memory of her sister despite holding the Alaskan coast at the cost of Jaz's life and nearly her own?! Not to mention the fishing rig?! Those men got to go home because of those Rangers. We were lucky that Becket was the only casualty. Face it, without those two, Alaska would have been up shit creek without a paddle!”

Scott had actually winced at the volume of Herc's shouts as he and got himself in between him and the Marshall. It had never been that way before, he mused sourly. Most of the time, it was Herc stepping in front of him and pulling him off somewhere to cool down before the inevitable lecture that was soon to follow. He had to admit that he didn't like the feeling or the need to be a minder and made a half-baked promise to himself that he wasn't going to put Herc in that position if he could help it.

But right now, he had to keep his brother from eviscerating the Marshall as the Knifehead attack was contained and Raleigh stabilized before they went to the academy to deliver the news to a sixteen year old cadet. And he hated to admit it, but Herc was hard to contain when his temper got the better of him. He had seen how mangled Becket was when they found her on the beach right after the beach-comber had contacted them and despite everything, he couldn't quash down the pity that unfolded in his stomach as he and Herc had gotten her medical help and made arrangements to haul away what was left of Gipsy. Raleigh was a bloody mess and she was the one that had survived.

Scott didn't want to think what state Jaz would have been in after Knifehead was done with her, so he forced himself to just keep Herc from getting himself charged with insubordination and contempt towards his superiors. He didn't think that either he or his nephew could survive a discharged Herc if it came down to it. Herc was a career soldier. Scott had simply stumbled upon it, having the luck to be compatible with his brother and damned good at fighting. He could take it or leave it, Herc not so much.

He didn't say anything as they waited for Stacker to speak, rather than stretch out the charged up silence between them as the fight drew on. It was within Stacker's power to order the proceedings to begin for a court-martial. But they all knew that even with the Becket's going against orders, the variables in the battlefield could change to the point that following orders could lead to gross error and miscalculations. The Beckets had gambled and their victory had held. The PPDC had to count that into consideration before acting and losing yet another pilot and taking a heavier blow that the PPDC could actually absorb and keep on moving.

They were at a standstill, both groups of men eyeing each other warily as they waited for the next move to come when the tension was broken by Tendo's console chirping at him and the screens changing from radar feeds to actual news feeds.

“Oh shit.” Tendo swore softly as his eyes canned the newsreels and the images kept rapidly changing from showing the battle-damaged Gipsy being dragged away to a fishing crew that were earnestly sharing their gratitude at being spared.

“ _We could have died out there. We know we were just a small ship caught out there, but they got us out. They got us out.”_ The captain of the crew, an old grizzled hand was practically tearing up as he spoke to the news anchor, his voice raw with emotion. Some of the other crew were actually openly weeping and Scott felt his throat work when he caught sight of the youngest crew member that was standing in the back and nearly hidden by the others. He was a kid and looked just a few years older than Chuck. Just a kid and he was now alive because of insubordination.

Scott focused on the kid, noticing with sardonic humour that the cameraman had the same idea and the kid's face was now the focus of the shot. Scott watched this as his mind then started whirring with the possibilities of the report on their current situation. They had to do damage control already, since Gipsy's destruction meant a hefty repair bill. Not to mention that if someone unscrupulous got their hands on the battle records and saw the orders and got the Becket's military records, it would be a shit-show of epic proportions that the PPDC could probably not get out of without some creative press. They had to move and move fast.

Scott felt Herc stop straining against him and he cautiously loosened his grip on his eldest brother, who had noticed the same thing and tilted his head in the direction of the screens.

“You sure you want to go ahead with the charges? Especially after everyone and his mother's seen that? It's too late to keep it all in the shadows. But I do know and care about the chain of command. Just remember what is at stake in what you decide to do. Permission to take leave, sir?”

Scott had to hide his face at that. He had never expected for his brother to go that far and he had to admit that it was both amusing and horrifying at how he could couch an insult while still being within the boundaries of his position. Herc had definitely risen more than a couple of notches in his estimation.

“Permission granted. You will know my decision before Cadet Becket gets notified.”

Stacker's voice was now coldly neutral, but there was a gleam of anger in his eyes that flashed briefly before Herc saluted and departed. Scott made a move to follow, but Stacker glared him down.

“Leave him be. You need to work with Choi to get a statement ready.”

Scott had swallowed hard and had done as he was bid, despite wanting to follow after Herc and keep an eye on him. He had been commanded and he too, respected the chain of command. So he simply saluted and followed Choi to gather information to get in front of the camera and speak his piece.

A piece that he later saw had no mention of a court-martial and no charges whatsoever. Raleigh Becket was a hero and Jazmine Becket was posthumously honoured as such. And the money was still pouring in and the goodwill of the coastal cities kept in good standing. And the matter was never mentioned again, either in front of the Beckets or in front of the council.

But it was never forgotten.

“I am aware of my past actions. Just as I am aware of my current ones. Those three earned their spots and as much as I personally do not want to send them to war...We are facing extinction. I need the best out there and they are that. I can't afford to have the empathy and human weaknesses that you and your brother and Choi do. I am the last man standing, the one whose head is on the block when something goes wrong just like I am the one who gets the medals. My job, Ranger Hansen, is a balancing act and the only thing I can hope for is that I made the right decision that day.”

He fixed Scott with a sharp glare before standing up, a clear sign that the briefing was over.

“Do I make myself clear, Ranger Hansen?”

“Crystal.”

~*~*~*~*

“You're not going to get all emotional on me, are you, Rals?” Yancy asked in mock seriousness as he let his sister fuss with his lapels as they waited for Yancy to be given his bars as a full Ranger of the PPDC. It wasn't huge or with much fanfare, but it was an honour to have the bars of a Ranger on his jacket.

She gave him a withering glare in return and he laughed, relieved that she wasn't being horribly emotional over the situation as some of the other Rangers and their families were being. He had been worried when he had seen her blank expression after the rankings had been announced and he had made it as a Ranger. A reserve ranger along with Chuck, but still a Ranger nonetheless.

He didn't want to hurt her, but it was all that he had wanted in his life, to be a Ranger like her and Jaz and make them proud. Even though he was terrified of dying or worse, being crippled and unable to no longer fight, he couldn't walk away. Not when the war was going on and they had to fight to keep the fucking Kaiju from getting past the coasts. He was too young to remember what it was like in Europe or in the heartland, but he could picture it from Jaz's and then later, Raleigh's words.

He grew up in war and destruction and the threat of being obliterated. He wanted to help combat that and stop it. Even if it meant leaving his sister to grieve yet again. He didn't mean to be selfish in that regard, but he couldn't just sit there and wait to die. He couldn't hide like Raleigh did.

He understood, as he got older, why she refused to step into a Jaeger again, despite keeping her skill-set up with practice and training. He had only understood in theory, how much she had lost. It wasn't until he had entered the drift with his partner that he understood why she had been on the brink of death for so long and how much effort it took her to actually come back and live. She had come back for him, more or less. The Hansens and Mako and Tendo had come after. He knew he was the only one that had kept her from fading away.

But if he didn't go out there and do what he had trained to do, Raleigh wouldn't be around to mourn him if it came to it. He had to keep her safe now. Especially now that the word was the Kaiju were evolving. And coming with more frequency and with deadlier attacks.

“Why would I, you twerp? It's not like you're getting married or something.” Rals replied, her tone scathing as she fixed his crooked tie and stepped back, nodding to herself as she took in the picture her younger brother made. It was a good thing they all had hit the genetic jackpot, she thought. Otherwise it would have been hell to clean up with all the rationing that was going on.

“Besides, you deserve it. I know you worked your ass off, as did that little shit and Mako.”

Raleigh bit off, making Yancy's next comment escape him as he looked down at his sister. Something that he knew kind of ticked her off since he had finally gotten his growth spurt when he had turned seventeen.

Raleigh sighed and crossed her arms across her own dress blues, hiding the accolades sewn on her jacket as she did. Apart from the Hansen family, the Kaidonovs, and the Luus, she was the most decorated Ranger on the base. Even if she was technically retired.

“I'm not going to lie to you. You're my little brother and the only blood family I have left. I'm going to be worried every time you get called up. I'm going to be in the Loccent room tracking your moves and hoping that you and that little ginger shit you drift with make it back safely and in one piece. But I'm not going to forbid you from doing what you need to do. You're eighteen, the same age I was when Jaz and I went to war for the first time. “

She looked down and Yancy felt his eyes prickling with the emotion his sister wouldn't show.

“You earned it, Yance. You work hard and you care. I'm scared, but I'm proud of you. I always will be, so don't forget that when you're out there, all right?”

Yancy took a deep breath and nodded.

“Yeah. I won't.”

She smiled then and nodded toward the stage.

“Now get up there. It's your time to shine.”

~*~*~*~*~

“There. All sorted.” Herc told his son once he had finished doing a perfect Windsor knot. Chuck looked at himself in the small mirror they kept in the bathroom and nodded.

“Thanks, old man.” Chuck's reply made Herc scowl and Scott snicker, the latter which was turned into a cough the minute Herc turned to glare at Scott.

“Yeah, don't get cocky now that you're a Ranger. I'm can still kick your ass.” Herc shot back, making Chuck roll his eyes fondly.

“Just like Raleigh did.” Scott added in a sotto voice, making Chuck turn and glare at him and for Herc to step in between his son and brother in case Chuck decided to extract revenge over that comment. Although Chuck respected and grew to adore Becket in his own way, having the incident mentioned never failed to get a rise out of him.

“Scott, grow the hell up and quit needling the boy. He's a kid. You lost that excuse years ago.” Herc snapped at Scott, making his brother roll his eyes as he sauntered over and clapped his hands on both Herc's and Chuck's shoulders, making them both wince.

“Yeah, yeah. I just do it because I love him and am proud of him. Ranger at eighteen, huh? Keep it up and don't get killed out there, would be my advice.” He winked at his brother at nephew, ignoring the glares before sauntering away.

“I'm off. I'll be seeing you getting your bars, kid.”

Neither Herc or Chuck spoke until the door had slammed behind Scott.

“He's such an arsehole.” Chuck muttered, his eyes widening when he realized what he had just said. He looked at his father, who shook his head.

“Sadly, I agree with you. He's a good man. Deep, Deep, Deep down. He is proud of you in his own way. Hell, I'm proud of you, kid. I'm sure your mum would be too.”

Herc almost was embarrassed by his unexpected outburst of emotion and wondered if being with Raleigh had softened him up more than he had suspected. He knew that Chuck had lost his abrasiveness after being her student and having Yancy as his left hand for the past couple of years. He wasn't aware that he too, had changed. He just knew that there wasn't a distance between himself and his son and even Scott had stopped being a nuisance and had somehow just become a fond annoyance outside of Lucky Seven.

Herc then had to wonder if Raleigh too, was having a similar conversation with Yancy. He guessed it was quite probable. After all, Jaz had been their mother figure and she had been lost like Angela to a Kaiju. There were parallels there, Herc was all too painfully aware. He just hoped that history wouldn't repeat itself with the boys.

Chuck swallowed noisily and looked down at the ground.

“I'd like to think so.”

“She would be, Chuck. Just like I can guarantee I am.”

Their eyes met and Chuck nodded again.

“Thanks old man. So does that mean I can get the puppy?”

Herc laughed.

“Yeah. Tomorrow, okay? We got stuff to do today.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, my apologies for such a long delay. It honestly has been a super busy week and today was just a horroawful day and I finally remembered I have this one to post. 
> 
> Scott Hansen-I swear I don't know how this guy just keeps getting a lot of screen time and personality. I suppose it is because he's somewhat a neutral party compared to the others. He also straddles the PPDC and civilian life, so I guess that's how he got the role. 
> 
> Herc and Chuck-Things are more mellower between them and they both talk to each other, rather than at each other, or at Max. Who comes in a little later here than usual. Scott and Raleigh and Yancy being around have made them less abrasive and less focused on perfection and more in touch with being human.
> 
> The Jaegers-I am still working out how they will all fit within the timeline, but I will do my best to not leave gaping plot holes or deux ex machina that are horrible. 
> 
> That's it for now, I suppose. Again, thank you for your patience. This term has left me with very little time/desire to write like I was doing in the past, so apologies for the massive delays and thank you to all that are reading still.


	3. The Lonely Wars We Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a brief interlude, the War has re-started, as was expected. But not at the pace and certainly with not as high a toll as it came with.

Raleigh wiped off the sweat off her forehead and pushed her braid behind her shoulder before getting a good grip on her staff. She moved fluidly into the stance and waited for her opponent to do the same. Herc rotated his neck before lifting his staff, signaling his readiness before they both exploded into action.

“Jesus. Your sister’s still damned strong.” Chuck muttered as they stood along with the rest of the Shatterdome crew and watched as his father and Raleigh Becket sparred. It wasn’t a common occurrence for her to spar with Herc, since he was technically two ranks above her in fighting ability and when it happened, it drew crowds and bets from all over the Shatterdome. Especially since Raleigh was one of the few instructors who could still hold her own against on-duty pilots. Only the Hansens and Alexei Kaidonovsky were the only ones who could still beat her without much effort. But with the Hansens, that was becoming a nearer margin, which drew the crowds out in full force.

Yancy nodded, his eyes sliding past the fight before them and to his drift partner, who had surreptitiously touched his long healed collarbone. Although it had healed clean, Chuck hadn’t ever forgotten that incident. He had gained respect for her and Yancy suspected (from what he had gotten in the brief time that they had drifted) that he also had a slight crush on Raleigh as well dating from that time. Yancy guessed that was part of their drift compatibility, but he was sure that there was more to that as to why they clicked when they couldn’t with others. Especially Mako, since all signs pointed to them having a bond and being able to establish a neural handshake with very little problems. But that hadn’t been the case.

Yancy frowned and focused on the sparring going on in front of them instead. Mako was still on the roster, as their back up. He didn’t think it was fair, but he understood why it had happened. Maybe even more than Mako herself.

“I think only Jaz was stronger than her. Maybe Sasha comes closer, I think.” Yancy replied, pushing his worries about Mako down and letting himself feel a bit of pride at seeing his sister pushing Herc back, a grim look on her face as she did.

“Fuck.” Chuck exclaimed at the exact moment that Raleigh somehow ducked under Herc and swept her staff to knock him off his feet. The hit was only partially successful as he ended up down on one knee and spun to do the same to her, knocking her onto her back. She didn’t lose her wits though, despite the impact of smacking the ground and jabbed at his unprotected side, smacking his wrist and making him drop his stave.

Both didn’t move for a few moments, each of them breathing heavily and locking eyes with each other. No one was moving and Yancy swallowed hard, feeling as if he was the third-wheel despite it being a battle with about a hundred or so witnesses to it. There was something so intimate at the way that Rals and Ranger Hansen stared at each other that despite it being so brief he couldn’t just dispel the feeling that there was a charged tension between them.

Yancy wondered if it had all been in his head when Raleigh moved away from Herc and extended a hand to him, making the entire spectator base break out into cheers. Although there hadn’t been a clear winner, the fight had been good and there was a chance for a repeat to get a clear winner established. That was all they cared about as they wandered off once Herc and Raleigh shook hands and walked off to their respective gear.

On her way there, Raleigh caught Yancy’s eye and nodded briefly before she put on her boots and headed off to shower. He wondered if she knew what he saw and the thought then struck him: Did Chuck see what had passed?

He swallowed nervously and turned to Chuck, who was thankfully turned away and collecting his earnings from a disgruntled looking Scott while a smirking Tendo looked on.

“You bet on both of them?” Yancy asked a bit hurriedly, relief flooding through his body as he watched Chuck pocket his winnings of ration tickets and shove them into the sheepskin coat that was a twin to Yancy’s. It had been a joint present from Ranger Hansen and Raleigh after they had made the active Ranger Roster. It had been a peace offering of sorts from both of them and that was why he and Chuck wore them whenever they could.

Chuck grinned as he straightened his jacket.

“When you have Scott as an uncle, you learn to do these things.” Chuck replied, jerking his thumb back and Scott, who scowled before giving his nephew a not so friendly punch in the shoulder. Chuck winced, but refused to show any sign of it hurting and Yancy only chalked it up to him not wanting to give his uncle the satisfaction.

Yancy only nodded, not wanting to get hit, since Scott had perfected the art of hitting right where it hurt the most and he wasn’t in the mood to walk around with bruises when he’d get more during training. Chuck and Raleigh never went easy on him and he could understand the reasoning behind it. He just hated being bruised for no good reason whatsoever. Besides, Scott Hansen had a bit of a mean streak and even Chuck was wary of him.

“Ha ha, Charley. Tell your old man I gotta talk to him about Seven when he’s done making cow eyes at your old teacher.”

Scott left Chuck sputtering and Yancy gaping at him as he sauntered off, somehow still winning despite losing his bet to Chuck. Tendo only rolled his eyes and muttered something that was too low for any of them to catch before moving off to go back on duty in the Loccent room.

“God. He's such an arsehole!” Chuck groaned, only to wince when Herc smacked him smartly across the back of the head, making him hiss and wince in pain.

“Language, boy. He's still your uncle. Even though he is an arsehole. Come on. Let's see what we can get with the ration coupons before I go and talk to him.”

“You heard him?” Yancy asked, completely dumbfounded as to how Herc knew what Scott wanted to talk to Herc about.

Herc shrugged his coat on as he spoke. “There have been signs of a Kaiju event coming up. Seven was dinged during the Indonesia drop. Besides, it's not like he's exactly subtle when he wants to needle people. Let's go, boy. See you later, Yancy, Raleigh.”

He nodded at both of them in turn before he nudged his son, who only followed suit, but said nothing as he fell into step with his father.

Yancy turned around and looked at his sister, who only shook her head and jerked her head in the direction of their quarters.

“Not here. The walls have ears in a Shatterdome.”

Yancy nodded and waited for her to lead the way back to their quarters. They had made it halfway when the Kaiju alarms started blaring and people started rushing to their stations.

Raleigh's face went stark white, but she didn't lose her wits.

“Come on, let's see if you're on the list.”

She grabbed him and Yancy had no choice but to run behind his sister as she dragged him to the Loccent room.

“What's the category?” Raleigh asked the Marshall once they had made it inside.

“Category fours. Lucky Seven and Horizon Brave are on it.”

“There are two of them?” Yancy asked, his voice rising at the end. Raleigh only frowned and grabbed her brother’s arm, squeezing it tight in a warning. But he knew that she was also freaked out by the news. She had only fought one category four Kaiju and lost Jaz. Two meant certain death and the Hansens were out there.

Yancy looked at her then and saw that Raleigh had just realized this at the exact same time that he had. She didn't react, but her hand felt strangely hot and clammy against his arm.

“We have to find Chuck.” She muttered, making him wince. Chuck. Shit. If anything happened to Seven, Chuck was going to be alone with just that wrinkle pup for company.

He luckily still had Rals. But he would be completely alone and the thought of that happening made his heart clench in his chest.

He took a deep breath and moved to go when the Marshall turned his head slightly in their direction before giving a small nod in confirmation.

“The Science Department confirmed that we would be seeing double events of Category Fours. It was just a matter of time. Category Fives are expected if we don’t figure out a way to close the breach soon.”

Raleigh's grip tightened so strongly on Yancy's arm that it made him wince in pain. Chuck hadn't been kidding when he had made that observation. Raleigh _was_ strong. And he was sure that she was going to be leaving bruises once she let go of him. 

“Sir, we just got word that one of the Kaijus is heading over to the Chilean coast.” Tendo Choi's voice floated over to them, making the Marshall turn his attention toward the screen that was showing the two Kaijus and the two Jaegers right behind them. 

“How much longer for Lucky Seven to be ready for the drop?”

“Five minutes. Horizon Brave and Tacit Ronin are ready and will engage as soon as they get close to the established perimeter.” Tendo reported as he kept a close eye on the screen while his fingers flew all over the keyboard in preparation for Lucky Seven's drop. 

“Sir...We've got a problem.”

Another alarm blared out and one of the Scientists, Geizler, Yancy remembered belatedly as he ran past, went up to the Marshal, a sheaf of print-outs in his hand as he started talking a mile a minute. Another scientist limped forward, his face grim as he joined the other two men. Yancy heard Tendo swearing and he turned his head in time to see another green dot flash onto the screen from the breach.

“Motherfucker. Come on. We gotta go and find Chuck.” Raleigh told her little brother as they watched the action going on around them, making it all too painfully obvious that they were quite superfluous in the loccent room as the third Kaiju appeared on the radar. 

“Yeah. Let's get going.” Yancy agreed, the lump in his throat quite thick as he fought to keep his calm in the face of all hell breaking lose. 

“Keep your comm on in your quarters and tell Hansen to do the same. Yancy, you're on reserve and active as of now.”

Yancy's heart stuttered a few beats when he heard the Marshall's casual order. Raleigh turned her face away, but didn't offer any other reaction. They both knew that it was always going to be a possibility when there was a drop. But Yancy had to admit that he hadn't been expecting for it to come so damned soon. Especially not when Seven and Horizon and Tacit were still out there. Category Fours were brutal, but to be on the active list just seven months after making it to the Ranger Corps? It was completely unexpected. But then, Jaz and Raleigh had been out there not even two months out of the academy, killing off any kaiju that would even dare trespass the zone.

“I'll make sure that he does.” Raleigh replied, her voice wavering only just a bit as she spoke and dragged her brother out of the loccent room and back to their quarters.

“Go and find Chuck and bring him and that ball of wrinkles he calls a dog back to our quarters. He needs all the support he can get if this ends up in Snafu territory. Do you understand?”

Yancy only had time to blink before he followed his sister's instructions to the letter. Luckily, he didn't have to go that far, since Chuck was running towards him, the puppy in his arms as he moved too fast for him to keep up.

“Raleigh wants you to come to our quarters.”

Chuck nodded, his face slightly flushed as he heard the news.

“I know Dad and uncle Scott just did their drop. A tech told me.”

Chuck replied, his voice even, yet Yancy knew it was a facade to hide how freaked out he really was. Especially since Yancy suspected that the tech had told Chuck more than that. There was no real reason for him to be clinging so tightly to the puppy, but Yancy understood and he knew that was the reason why Raleigh had ordered them to their quarters instead of being in the Hansen ones. No one should be alone in those circumstances. No one.

“Yeah. Also, we're on call. So we'd better get back.”

Chuck, to his credit, didn't splutter or be bewildered. He just nodded and walked alongside Yancy, who noticed their arms bumping together as they walked. But said nothing, due to it bringing him more comfort than he wanted to admit. Chuck beside him was grounding. Just like he had been to Raleigh in those terrible, dark days after Jaz had died.

He swallowed hard and went ahead at the last turn to open the door and make sure that it was clear. Raleigh had been living in army quarters and under rations for so long that lack of space and casual nudity was the norm in their cabin. He had long stopped being embarrassed if he caught his sister walking around in just her underwear, but he didn't think that Chuck would be as blasé as he.

“You got him?” Raleigh asked when Yancy stuck his head into the room to see her dressed in a tank top over a dark blue bra and her belt buckle undone.

“Yeah. Just, you know.” He said, sticking his hand inside and motioning to her chest.

“Yeah, Yeah.” Raleigh replied as she pulled on a cardigan that had seen better days on. It wasn't great, but at least it was a start.

“Thank you.”

He opened the door wide and motioned Chuck inside, closing the door with a noisy clang behind him and making the puppy yelp a bit at the resulting noise.

“Oh! You brought Max!” Raleigh cooed the minute she saw the puppy in Chuck's arms.

“Can I hold him?”

Chuck nodded as he smiled faintly, his ears pink as Raleigh scooped the puppy out of his arms and held them in her own while Yancy discreetly walked over to the comm and saw that there had been no messages during the time that they had been gone. He sighed heavily, not sure whether it was in relief or disappointment and turned to look back at Raleigh and Chuck, who were discussing the puppy, who was happily basking in the attention. Yancy smiled when he saw how much Raleigh was fawning over the puppy and how pink Chuck was. It brought back a very fuzzy memory of seeing Raleigh and Jaz doing the same thing to a long forgotten pet while mum and dad watched.

Yancy sucked in a breath at the unexpected memory and the feelings that it brought up and swallowed hard. He hadn't thought about their parents for years and he honestly didn't need the emotions. Not when he and Chuck could be going out to fight their first Kaijus.

He shook his head to clear it and went over to the happy group. Despite the fact that he wasn't too fond of dogs and Max tended to drool uncontrollably when he was around.

~*~*~*~*~

Scott swallowed hard and shook his head. He could taste blood in his mouth and his right side felt like it had been wrenched out and shoved back in without much care. That had been a hard hit and he must have passed out, if Herc's concern flooding through his mind was enough to go by. Concern that he really shouldn't be wasting on him, as far as he was concerned. He would survive. Herc, he wasn't too damned sure of.

“Worry about yourself, old man. You have that snot-nosed brat to take care of.” Scott snapped, finally noticing the crack running along Herc's helmet and the blood trickling down his temple. He could also feel the ghost of an ache in his side and knew that his brother hadn't gotten out in time. The fucking Kaiju had surprised them they had tried to get Tacit out of the Kaiju Blue that it had been soaked in after the Kaiju had been ripped wide open from sternum to abdomen and its entrails yanked out. It hadn't been a pretty victory, but it had been a victory. The challenge now was to get Tacit out and cleaned up before the Kaiju Blue corroded the pod and killed off Konishi and Kunetzikov.

Horizon was still fighting to get the second Kaiju away from the Chilean coast and didn't need their help. Or so they had thought after the Kaiju had sideswiped them and gotten Seven scraped up with a couple of hits. Luckily, the repairs had held, but Scott had a feeling that this may possibly be the last run that they could push Seven through on. Already, they had gotten warnings of the blue compromising their shielding and the need for them to end the battle was even more crucial than just pushing the Kaiju away from Tacit and the coast.

They had no choice but to trust that Tacit was going to be fine while they destroyed this Kaiju. Scott licked his lips and swallowed the metallic taste of copper down. It was enough to get him focused and back on track, what Herc was waiting for.

They rushed it, fists out with the blades out and struck it with rapid blows that gouged out its eyes and left its head a ragged mess of flesh and blue. The attack made it angry and that was what they were counting on it to do. It meant they could fight dirty and hit hard to get the upper hand. That was all that mattered.

Despite his right arm hurting, Scott went first. He kicked out and waited for Herc to land the hit, blade out with its serrated edges cutting through leathery hide. Blue spurted out of the neck, but it wasn't in the quick bursts that signaled that the artery had gotten cut. No. It had been a good lucky hit, but it wasn't enough.

The Kaiju was even more furious and charged at them again, claws and spike studded tail swinging and bearing up to cause as much damage as possible.

Scott caught one of the clawed blows, his arm burning from the deep gouges he received from the blow. He heard Herc shout and start moving to the right after dodging the blow. But the tail was swinging and it was coming.

“To the left! Move to the left!” Scott screamed, knowing full well that it was a gamble. Lucky Seven wasn't as fast as Tacit, but it could move in a pinch.

Seven moved, but the tail still caught the back of Scott's right knee and caused him to drop. The pain clouded his vision and blurred whatever it was that Herc was shouting. The Kaiju was coming at them again and he forced himself to stand, despite knowing his leg was fucked.

“Just this last one.” He heard Herc tell him, reminding him of when they were kids and he had to be coaxed to go through something or other that was unpleasant as all out. He scowled at the memory and pushed himself to do whatever it was that Herc had in mind.

“Now!”

He let Herc lead, moving through the forms until the sound of crunching metal, sparks and the dying roar of the Kaiju filled his mind and then faded out into the white static at the end of the movies on the telly when he was a kid.

Then there was nothing.

~*~*~*~*~

“-Don't ever fucking do that again, you idiot. You hear me?” Herc was fiercely whispering, trying desperately to be quiet, but his anger and worry not letting that happen.

“Loud and clear. You never did learn to keep your voice down, did ya, _Hercules_?”

Scott managed, his voice cracking badly as the pain and the thirst slammed right into him. He coughed for a few seconds before Herc lifted his head and guided a straw towards his lips. Scott sucked down the water gratefully, enjoying the soothing wetness going down his throat while Herc did something to the lines that were so obviously there. After a few moments, the pain was gone and his mind was fuzzed over. But not badly enough to be completely out of it.

“Seven?” He rasped out, his eyelids feeling too damned heavy to keep open for too long.

“Wrecked. We got out just in time.”

“The Kaiju?” He slurred out. Oh shit. This was the heavy stuff.

“Finished. We got our fourth kill.”

“There's more, isn't there?”

“Yeah. But that can keep. Just...Just get some rest Scott.”

~*~*~*~

“So when are we going to test Miss Mori and Hansen?” Tendo asked as he glanced up at the reports that he was typing up before they were bundled up and sent off to the various councils and Shatterdomes. The Marshall watched him for a few seconds longer before he finally replied.

“In a week. Gottlieb's numbers are indicating some quiet. We have a bit of time.”

Tendo nodded and opened another half-finished file on his desktop and wrote the information in, saving it and sending copies out.

“Which Jaeger?”

“Gipsy Danger.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After looking through different sources, Tacit and Horizon are Chilean and Japanese Jaegers in this version. The pilots are just picked at random and since the sources are so conflicting, we can just chalk it up to this being a possibility and move on. 
> 
> Lucky Seven, I picture as looking similar in design to Striker Eureka, but with serrated blades that are just a bit longer. We have no actual date of it being destroyed, so I figured it was destroyed in the middle of the war, since Herc and Scott did a few drops. 
> 
> Ration cards-To be honest, I'm writing this verse as if it was during the world wars and money has more or less lost value and the ration cards are what make the economies run.


	4. My Mind Was A Tempest, My Doubt Was a Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Shatterdome has to deal with the aftermath of what is being called the Triple Event, signalling time is running out faster than anyone would like. 
> 
> Herc is far too lost in his own mind after nearly losing Scott while still connected to him and Raleigh proves to be his only way back to piloting again. 
> 
> And the Science division sees two steps ahead of everyone and is playing with fire, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things pick up in this chapter because of the necessity of ending the war and not losing the goodwill of the public after what can be considered a Pyrrhic victory. This is an aftermath and gearing up chapter again, because I suspect that the war would have less down time now that the big guns are being sent. 
> 
> Title is from "Beat of her heart" by Gungor. Proofed, but if there are any issues, feel free to let me know.

Yancy came back from the small kitchenette and promptly put the cup of tea he had made for Chuck down in front of his co-pilot, who was still parked on the sofa with a snoozing Max sitting on his lap. He was pretty quiet after the battle and the aftermath.

He hadn’t, in fact, said anything much and as much as Yancy wanted to make sure that he was okay, he didn’t want to make things worse for him get in the middle of Chuck coming to grips with the situation unfolding in the Shatterdome.

He grabbed his own cup and sat down, careful to leave room between them as he thought back to earlier, when they had been taken off the reserve list for the battle and the jaegers, their pilots and crews were coming back into the Shatterdome.

They had been waiting in the loading dock when Raleigh noticed something that had her swearing quietly under her breath. She looked to her left and Yancy followed suit.

Seven was being towed in. But it was in worse shape than even Gipsy had been when he had seen it. He could tell that Seven was going to join the rest of the Jaeger graveyard. It hurt to know that they had just lost another Jaeger. Even though three Kaijus had been brought down, they had lost more than they gained.

He wondered if anything had happened to Herc and Scott when they finally appeared and even though Herc was moving under his own power, he looked like a man that had taken a beating and then some. Scott...Scott was a mess, from what he could tell. There were so many medics on him that he could barely see anything. He got a glimpse of a bloodstained face and dead white skin under his dark red hair and nothing.

He heard his sister's sharp intake of breath and figured it all out after that. He swore under his breath and watched as Herc walked by, his gaze looking inward as he chased the after image of Scott Hansen in his mind. So intent was he on the task that he didn't really notice his own son until he was almost in front of him.

“Dad!” Chuck called out, stepping forward when Herc limped by him.

Herc’s eyes were bloodshot and he looked as if he had just come out from the farthest recesses of his mind to acknowledge his son standing there alongside Raleigh and Yancy Becket.

“Stay with Yancy. I gotta be with your uncle Scott.” Herc had told him, his voice hoarse and cracking as he uttered the words.

Yancy had been standing right beside him and had grabbed Chuck the minute that he had made an aborted move as if to go after his father.

“Take him to his quarters.” Raleigh whispered, her eyes dark with concern before she turned and took off after Herc. Yancy watched her disappear and did as he was told, tugging at Chuck’s arm to take him back. But Chuck shook him off, determined to come after his father and his uncle.

“Let go of me, Becket! I gotta see them! Let go!”

“Later. Come on Chuck. Let’s go.”

“Why should I? Why is it that your sister can go when she’s not family and I can’t?”

“Jaz died in her head, that’s why.”

All of the earlier bravado Chuck had earlier drained out of him in a rush, leaving him ash-faced and still as Yancy’s words sunk in.

He scrubbed at his face with his hands before finally taking a deep breath and heading back to his quarters with Yancy following.

“How you holding up, Chuck?” Yancy asked as he sat down and took a sip of his own drink. Chuck shrugged one shoulder and looked down at his own tea, doctored up with milk and sugar. He took a long drink of it before chewing his lip. Although it was all to buy himself more time, Yancy could respect that it was hard for Chuck to articulate anything that had to do with his own emotions and his family. Hell, he found it hard with Raleigh, so he could appreciate needing time to get his head screwed on properly.

“I'm okay. I'm just...I'm just worried about Scott. And what his death will do to my dad.”

Chuck finally whispered, his hands tightening around his cup as he voiced all the thoughts going through his mind at that moment.

“You told me, how hard it was with Raleigh at the beginning. How messed up she was. How hard it was for her to come back. He's not a weak man, but having that in your head...”

He trailed off, drinking more tea while Yancy sat stock still, his mind involuntarily going back to the exact moment he had seen his sister after Knifehead and being told of Jaz's death.

“Jaz is gone...Yance, Jaz is gone. I'm not going to see her in the drift again.”

She had said that to him, her eyes looking as blank and cracked as Herc's eyes. He realized belatedly that was the reason why Herc's gaze had seemed so familiar. Scott though, was still alive. Yancy wondered if she knew what she had said to him that day. And if she did, if it would help Herc and Scott, despite their situation. They had a chance to not be haunted and find each other in the drift. But only if Scott survived and he looked like he was on the edge of death when he had been brought in.

“He won't die. Your uncle is too contrary to do so.” Yancy assured Chuck, making himself believe it so that his drift partner wouldn't taste the lies in his words. Ever since they had drifted and found that they were drift compatible, he could suss out the smallest lie coming from Chuck and he could tell that Chuck could do the same.

Chuck snorted, but his hands weren't gripping his cup in a death grip, so that was improvement.

“That's a nice way to describe a mulish arsehole like him. But yeah. I'm hoping that he does. I don't think it would be the same without him around.”

Yancy nodded, wincing as it was again brought home how much the fucking kaijus and war had changed their lives. They shouldn't be talking about death, or ration cards or funerals. But that was the shit hand that they were dealt and they just had to deal with it.

Even if it meant preparing to mourn yet again and add another photo to the already too crowded walls in their quarters.

“I just wish I could help him. He's my dad, for fuck's sake.”

Yancy turned his head away and sighed. He knew that feeling all too well, not being able to help ease the effects of Jaz dying in Raleigh's head. No matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn't do anything that could help. He hadn't had anyone die in his head. He had never experienced the soul wrenching grief of having the other half of himself being torn apart.

Only Raleigh knew what it felt like.

And she was the only one to help at this point.

“I know.”

~*~*~*~*~

He had been in his suit still, the one with the marred Seven over the chest plate, sitting on one of the examination tables, trying to get himself together enough to get it stripped off of him so he could get into his civilian clothes. But his head was swimming with so many thoughts it felt like he was drowning and he wasn't sure if they were all his thoughts and emotions, or if they were Scott's. It was tangled so tightly that he couldn't even figure out where to begin. Staying still helped, but he knew he was going to have to move soon. He couldn't stay in his bloodstained suit for too long until the circuits got themselves engraved in his skin. But the whirlpool in his mind was too much and he couldn't even move without getting sucked deeper. He was treading the surface at the moment, but he knew he wasn't going to be able to keep it up for much longer.

He raised his head and winced at the movement, the knock he had taken and the stitches throbbing and making themselves known. He touched his head and had just felt the wad of medical tape and gauze when he became aware of Raleigh standing at the door.

“Herc?” She called out quietly, her movements slow and careful as if she was approaching a spooked and cornered animal.

He opened his mouth to reply, but understood at once when she glided up to him that she wasn't expecting an answer. She had simply called out his name to let him know she was coming into the room and coming closer to him.

She put her hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes, her gaze deep and dark blue like the ocean on a quiet day. He couldn't say anything, but the dark depths of her eyes grounded him, kept him from losing himself into his mind. He kept his own gaze focused on those eyes, feeling his thoughts disentangling from his own brother's. Slowly, ever so slowly, but it was happening.

“Good.”

She murmured before she put her hand on his forehead, the touch finally speeding up the process. Her touch also made him realize how cold he really was. How disengaged he really had been from his own body and the reality around him.

He shuddered once it was all done and slumped forward into her arms, his mind fully his and his body finally giving up the fight and unspooling like a puppet without its strings.

“It's done. It's all done.”

She whispered, cradling him as he succumbed into exhaustion and the world went black around him.

~*~*~*~*

“So Seven is done for.” Raleigh sighed as she traced the lines of Herc’s collarbone as they lay quietly in bed. It was a rare interlude for them and they were determined to enjoy it for as long as they possibly could before being pulled away to their respective posts.

After he had woken up in a clean t-shirt and track bottoms in the medical bay with Raleigh sitting next to his bed, they hadn't wasted any time in leaving and going back to her quarters. If anyone noticed, they said nothing as Raleigh and Herc made their way there. Only pausing to lock the door, they had urgently stripped and had just made it to the bed before he had claimed her.

It hadn't been one of the gentlest times between them, but it was desperation that fueled his movements. He couldn't let her go, couldn't lose himself if he kept grounded within her.

She had met his demands with as much force as him, her heart beating rapidly as her nails dug into his back, scoring angry red lines as he thrust deep into her. Raleigh had met his thrusts and moved with him, her mouth crushed against his as their sweaty skin slid and stuck together whenever they had spent themselves.

Once the burning need had disappeared from their blood, they lay quietly amongst stained and rumpled sheets. Her hair was in snarls all over the place and his was sticking up in the back and plastered to his skull on one side, but it didn't matter. He was nearly himself again.

And with that comedown arrived the sickening realization that Jaz had died and she had been alone without anyone to do what she had done for him.

He had nearly lost his mind with Scott technically dying on him for four minutes. How had she-?

“Raleigh? How-”

Raleigh sighed and lifted her head, her eyes dead as she looked at him.

“Not right now, Herc. Don't ask that now. I will tell you. But not right now.”

He would have pushed it if hadn't been for her face, which showed all of the strain and exhaustion that she was under. He knew that look. Hell, he had been on the brink of it himself more times than he had ever wanted to admit. So he let it go, but made a mental note to not forget to ask.

“Got it.” Was all Herc could bring himself to reply at that particular moment. He had his left arm wrapped around her and he was stroking her upper arm with his thumb in an almost absent-minded gesture.

“Tomorrow, we'll see Scott. And figure out what will happen after this. But right now, sleep.”

Raleigh had muttered and he hadn't balked at her suggestion. He had promptly shut his eyes and followed suit.

~*~*~*~

“Ranger, how are you holding up?”

Herc understood it was a formality, but he still managed to make a face when he sat across the desk from the Marshall.

“Better than I otherwise would have without my brother or the Beckets.” He replied, carefully wording his answer as to not give away the actual nature of his and Raleigh's relationship.

“I figured as much. After all, she is, thankfully, the only one with that sort of experience. But I'm asking how you are holding up. I need my pilot and my trainer back. Losing Seven and having Tacit and Horizon out of commission will cost us. We can't tear Cherno Alpha or Crimson Typhoon away from the coast as of yet. There had been an upsurge of activity ever since the triple event occurred.”

The Marshall folded his hands together and looked critically at Herc.

“I need you back. I need Raleigh back. Can I count on both of you?”

Herc swallowed hard as he weight his options. Technically, he and Raleigh were on leave for awhile yet. He had to admit that her being around had helped him overcome the shock he had been under, he still wasn't one hundred percent. He was still too caught up in the loss of his Jaeger and the near loss of Scott. Despite everything, Scott was still his little brother and having him briefly die on him in the middle of a battle was a hard blow to deal with. His psyche was still dealing with the battering it took over having Scott go into arrest in the cockpit and he couldn’t stop playing the scenarios in his mind over and over again. He had seen Scott be fine with his own eyes, sleeping off the drugs they had given him. He had been there when Chuck and Max had visited, while Raleigh and Yancy cautiously hovered over them in the background. He logically knew that Scott was fine. That Scott wasn’t going to die anytime soon.

But he still couldn’t let go of the fear that had gripped him when Scott had just gone out after finishing off the Kaiju. It had been brief, but it had been enough to scare him. He had lost Angela, they had lost their parents. He didn’t think he could take another loss so damned soon. Especially not when he had to play the waiting game with Chuck now that there was definite proof of double events and even a category five coming through the breach.

The war had taken on a new urgency and they needed to win it. And fast.

“I can do it. Just tell me what you're planning.”

“We're going to close the breach.”

~*~*~*~*~

“Are you sure that the math adds up?” Newton Geizler asked his work colleague, Herman Gottlieb, as he glanced dubiously at the data being spewed out of the printer at a rapid fire pace.

“Unfortunately, yes. I am positive. This was no mere coincidence. We need to get the breach closed. The triple event will become a quadruple event and we don't have the resources to combat that many category four and five kaiju. Not when we know that they're evolving.”

Gottlieb added, pointing to the stack of data that Newton had compiled after dissecting at least five full grown Kaiju.

Newton took a deep breath and nodded, his sleeves rolled up to reveal the colourful tattoos on one of his forearms. There was still space on his right forearm for another one. 

“I figured as much, after looking at the recent brain. We could-”

“The Marshall-”

“Would understand. We're down to the wire at the moment. You said it yourself: We cannot maintain this war any longer. Not with the attacks we'll be facing. This is the only way we can figure it out.”

Herman sighed heavily. He didn't like what Newt was planning, but he also understood the direness of the situation. Enough to not bristle at having his own words thrown back at him. 

“Fine. How much time will we need?”

Newton grinned, his entire face lighting up as if someone had announced the early coming of Christmas.

“An hour. Tops.”

Herman nodded, pinching the bridge of his nose before he looked at Newton again. 

“Fine. Let's get it set up. I've got a few obstructions we can use to make sure we're not interrupted.”

“All right. Let me get it set up. Punch in the code, will you?”

Herman rolled his eyes, but limped over to the main computer, gathering up his own data on the way there and punching in the code. Instantly, the lines of data scrolled onto the screen at a dizzying rate until the proper program was being set up on the screen. Newton nodded.

“Good. Let's get it started then.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Raleigh and Herc-She had Jaz die in her head and she had to overcome it alone, so she is the best option to keep Herc from losing himself to the shock of going through the same thing. Although Scott only died briefly, the adrenaline of the battle and the loss fucked Herc up enough to be a bit of a mess. Raleigh herself nearly succumbed, that's why she's determined to pull him back no matter what. 
> 
> Sex is usually the response to near death situations, so hence them going at it once he gets a grip on himself somewhat. They're not yet admitting what they mean to each other due to other issues going on around them.
> 
> Chuck and Yancy-I kind of figure that these two would actually hit it off much better, since they have similar personalities. Also, Yancy is technically the youngest, being born in December to Mako's birth in April and Chuck being an August baby, but tends to be the mother hen of the group. So he makes tea and takes care of stuff.


	5. 5-Will You Fall? Will You Fall Down?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Herc and Mako get their trial by fire and Raleigh makes a decision once the plans to seal the breach have been sped up due to new information and Kaiju attacks.

Herc crossed his arms and looked at his new Jaeger. He knew she was a good piece of machinery, having done a brief co-ordinated drop with the Becket sisters in Manila in what felt like a lifetime ago. He knew the stats, knew approximately how she handled and the new weapons that had been added after the Miracle Mile incident and yet...He gave Mako Mori a sidelong glance and wondered if she had the same reservations now that her dream to be Ranger was coming true.

Well, if she managed to be good drift material, that was. Although he was experienced, he had only really drifted with Scott. And now that Scott was honourably discharged from the PPDC due to his injuries from his last battle, they were going to see if he could replicate the success of a drift with a new pilot. He didn't know if he could do it with Mako Mori. He knew that there was more than numbers in a successful drift and compatibility.

Herc bit his lip as he turned his attention back to Gipsy. He hadn't ever really thought about it before, having had the skill and a doctor's theory that had put him and Scott together. It had been simple for them to drift together. One minute he had been wondering about slipping into Scott's head, the other, he  _was_ in Scott's head and Scott was in his. Nothing to it. 

He sincerely hoped that was what would happen with Mako. But he had strong suspicions it wouldn't be. He knew that the odds of a successful drift with very little emotional connections were not great. But they had to try. They were the last and wishful thinking wasn't going to make Raleigh into a pilot anymore than it would for the Marshall. He respected the reasons why they couldn't be pilots. It didn't mean that he didn't feel the loss of experience keenly either.

“Conn Pod is ready. Get suited up.” Tendo's voice drifted over and he snapped out of his thoughts and finally looked at Mako, who was watching him with that cool expression of hers. She only nodded and followed behind Tendo, her steps rapid as she tried to not telegraph her eagerness to get started. He followed her and wondered if he had ever been like her, eager to get into battle and prove himself. 

He supposed that maybe in his early days. But once he had been a Ranger and stepping into the conn pod of Seven, it had changed. He was only there for revenge and for protecting the last remembrance he had of his Angela. Now though, what was he fighting for? It was still Chuck at the forefront. And Scott, Yancy, and even that little ball of wrinkles, and...He inhaled sharply as the image of a sleep-soft Raleigh popped into his mind. Raleigh with her haunted eyes and soft mouth and generosity in every aspect of her life.

He wanted to lie that it wasn't the case and that she was also part of the package. She always had been when it came to that particular part of his life. He was lying though and he knew that all too well. Or else why had he always gone back to her? Or had done his model best to keep his brother away from her? It was moving into a territory that he wasn't willing to deal with at that moment. Maybe if they survived and the war ended, he could entertain those thoughts. He didn't want to put so much hope and effort into something and leave it unfinished, or worse, another person to grieve. He had been through it himself and he didn't want to add to hers as well. The wound of Jaz's death was slowly healing and Raleigh was moving forward. He couldn't bear to think of him causing another wound in her psyche. Not when he had been there, watching and helping make Jaz's death hurt less and less.

Herc took a deep breath and got himself suited up, pushing all his worries and thoughts away as he was swarmed by techs and starting the complicated and arduous task of getting into his flight suit. A brand new one that was such a dark blue that it looked black in certain lights. It wasn’t what he was expecting, but he was relieved nonetheless since it was a complete break with the colour-schemes associated with Seven and Australia.

“Not what you were expecting, was it?” Mako asked him, snapping him out of his examination of the suit as he and Mako moved forward towards the Conn Pod. 

“Not exactly. No.”

She nodded before she pointed at the control positions.

“So which one is your spot?”

Herc frowned. He had piloted on the left when he had been with Scott, but that wouldn't work with Mako. Not when he had the experience and a strong suspicion that he was the ground circuit in this instance. He was usually the bruiser, but he was going to have to switch, despite his uneasiness in having to do so. He didn't have Scott's touch when it came to the Conn Pod systems, but he was all they had and it would have to do.

“I'll take the right. Do you mind?”

Mako's mouth thinned, but she didn't protest and took her spot. They looked at each other one last time before they both slipped their helmets on. It was time.

“Tendo?”

“Yeah, Hansen? You're ready to go?”

“As ready as we'll ever be.”

“Let's start this.”

“All right. On the-”

His voice was cut off the by the all too familiar klaxons of a Kaiju alarm. Herc flinched as he turned to look at Mako, who was pale-faced, but showed no other signs of hesitation or fear.

Herc knew at that point the practice run was a trial by fire similar to the one he and Scott had endured off the coast of Australia. It had been a hard fight, but they had survived it. He cursed his luck that he was about to go through it yet again, despite it being a necessary evil.

Mako Mori wanted to prove herself. She was going to do just that.

“Ranger Hansen and Mori. This is Marshall Stacker. Although this was not a planned part of your run, I am afraid we don't have much of a choice but to send you in. Category Four off of the Aleutians. Good luck.”

Although laconic, it was what he needed to hear.

“Let's get this started, shall we? Initializing neural handshake.”

Herc cast one last look at Mako and nodded, feeling slightly relieved when she nodded back. Good. She wasn't frozen. That was always a good sign.

And then the handshake got a hold of them, drawing them into each other's minds. He felt her slip. It was slight, but it continued as the memories of Tokyo and Onibaba pushed forward, her mind locking up with the terror of being alone and terrified out of her wits as Onibaba chased her down ash-covered streets. She was chasing a rabbit and already, he could feel her pulling away and running towards it. They all had those memories. But the trick was to overcome them, to pull back before they pulled both of them under. Already, he could taste her terror and feel it seep into her bones as she hoped against hope to be-

“Mako! Don't lose yourself in that! Mako! MAKO!”

He pulled. There was no other way to explain it. He simply reached out and-

He nearly jerked back at the sudden exit out of her memories and into his: Of hot Sydney nights, of Angela and Chuck. Of Scott. Of entering the Ranger program and battling his first Kaiju. Meeting the Marshall for the first time. Of Scissure. Of taking Chuck into the academy and handing Yancy a PPDC flag. Of Raleigh-

They both snapped out of it and the bond finally stabilized. He could feel her, drifitng about in his head like a ghost. Like she could feel him, weaving in an out of her synpases and neurons, crackling along as the memories finally settled and they connected.

They were ready.

“Ready for the drop.”

~*~*~*~*~

“Are you sure about this?” 

The Marshall, despite working to keep his voice low, couldn't help but to let an edge of worry seep through. Geizler's bloodshot eye twitched and Gottlieb's face looked worse than spoiled milk. But neither scientist hesitated to nod their heads.

“That Kaiju has got three more coming after it. If we're going to close the breach, we've got to do it now and with the body of the first kaiju that Gipsy destroys.”

The Marshall allowed himself to frown at that.

“Why is a kaiju body needed?”

“DNA signature. The breach only accepts that which it can read. No DNA signature, no entry.”

Geizler's explained, his hand shaking as he thrust forth the crumpled paper were he had mapped out the theory after he had stopped shaking and stemmed the blood gushing from his nose. It had taken awhile, but once he was sure that it had been done properly, he had gathered up Gottlieb and rushed to see the Marshall, the alarm klaxons making them hurry like they hadn't before.

The Marshall nodded, relieved to have a final piece of the puzzle at hand. Now he needed manpower to go after Gipsy and get the bomb into the breach.

“Choi, what's our ETA with Crimson Typhoon and Tacit Ronin?”

“Fifteen minutes for Tacit. Crimson's got their hands full down by Macao. Cherno's got our call, but they will be too late to get here in time.”

The Marshall nodded. They could possibly take care of it with just two, but if the kaijus kept coming in waves of four, they would have to move without delays.

As reluctant as he was to do so, he needed Striker out there with the payload before they had a wave of five, as per Gottlieb's numbers.

“Sir, Gipsy has engaged the first Kaiju.”

The Marshall looked up, no expression crossing his face as he watched the events unfold on the screen in front of him. Although he was on the edge, watching Mako and Herc give no quarter, he never showed his nervousness. Mako had been trained well. Herc was one of the top Jaeger pilots. They were going to survive. He had no doubt about it. He wouldn't let himself have them. Not when things were starting to draw to a close.

He watched and waited, his face implacable because that was what he did. He was the last man standing and no matter what happened, he had to make himself be that for everyone.

~*~*~*~*

Mako felt like her brain was getting jolted out of her skull when the Kaiju not only slammed into them, but hit them with what felt like thousands of volts of live electricity. She wasn't aware of blacking out. Or if Herc did the same. She just shook her head when her vision cleared and wished that she hadn't bitten her tongue quite so hard.

“Gipsy, do you copy?”

“Hansen here. We got electrocuted.” His voice was gravelly and Mako was aware of the blunt pain in her left temple that was an echo of Herc's own. It was an annoying set back, but at least they hadn't been incapacitated, which she was sure that the Kaiju had been aiming for with that electrical jolt. 

“Everything functional?”

“Everything except us at the moment. Where's the Kaiju?”

“Heading towards Juneau. It's at your five o'clock. You don't have time to spare.”

“You ready, Mori?”

“Are you?”

Herc's chuckle was the only response as they moved Gipsy as fast as she could go towards the Kaiju that had another objective on its mind. Doing as they were told, they pushed Gipsy forward, leaping onto the Kaiju's back. It shrieked as it fought to rip them off of its back, its claws digging furrows into the metal of Gipsy's forearms.

But they didn't let go, even if it felt like the claws were digging into bone at times.

Herc hooked his fingers and made a ripping motion, causing the Kaiju's screams to rise as its eye was gone. Mako did the same and the Kaiju redoubled its efforts to buck them off of its back.

It tried, but Gipsy hung on long enough for Mako to find the soft spot under its chin. She grit her teeth, her focus going inside as her fingers dug into the skin, tearing and gouging until she came in contact with the throat. Smiling, she grabbed it tightly and wrenched it out, depriving the monster of a voice and of its life.

“It's done.”

~*~*~*~*~

“Sir, we've got more activity coming from the breach. We suspect we've got about twelve minutes before an attack. ETA on Horizon is now ten minutes. No word on Cherno or Crimson as of yet.” Tendo called out, drawing back the Marshall's attention to the screen, where it showed two pulsing green dots coming from the direction of the breach.

He frowned. This was not good. Not good at all. They would have to speed up their plans even more than he had anticipated.

“Get Hansen and Becket ready. We're getting that breach sealed now.”

Tendo's face twitched at that and the rosary he had wound around his wrist whipped back and forth as he turned to look at the Marshall.

“Sir? We still have Horizon-”

“Horizon will back up Gipsy. Striker is the one that will get the payload down there. Tell Gipsy to grab the corpse and bring it to the Shatterdome.”

Tendo nodded and turned back to his console, an idea forming in his mind as he tapped in the command to call the Rangers. He only hoped that Raleigh would be able to remember the codes, or else...

He refused to think about it and the possible court-martial that could occur if that was the case and simply followed his gut reaction. It was worth the gamble. It had to be.

~*~*~*~*

Raleigh's face went dead white when she noticed the alarm blaring. Yancy was in the bathroom and she rushed up to look at the specs. She mouthed them to herself and her eyes got huge at the notes and the strange sequence used to...Her eyes bulged as the memories rushed forward. She really hoped that Tendo had been joking, but the words were in that sequence that they had agreed upon years ago if she or Jaz were ever split up and in huge danger. 

Her hands shook as she went into the chest at the foot of her bed, but she didn't hesitate when she heard the sound of a faucet running. She had no choice. She had to do it. 

Raleigh hid the object in her watchstrap and kicked the chest closed just in time for her brother to come out of the bathroom. 

“I'm up?” Yancy asked as she turned around and looked at him, nodding at him.

She had expected that it would happen, but it still didn't mean that it didn't make her stomach clench in fear for her little brother. She wet her lips and looked at Yancy, whose face was pale, but determined all the same. 

“So this is it.” He tried to smile, but his face wouldn't co-operate. It was different to know that he would be called up and being called up. But he had signed up for this and even though he was terrified, he was determined to see it through. 

“Come back alive, Yance. Don't do be a fucking hero if you don't have to.” Raleigh whispered, roughly embracing her brother at the same time. She slid the syringe down into the palm of her hand and before she lost her nerve, she plunged it into his hip.

“I'll do that, Rals. I'll come-”

He gasped at the sharpness of the needle and his eyes widened in horror as his body slackened in his sister's grip. She had drugged him! He looked at her beseechingly as she dragged him over to the bunks. Her face was calm and collected as she lay him down on her bed. His eyes were getting heavy as he watched her pull on her old Gipsy jacket. She turned her head and smiled sadly at him, her hand moving over to the wastebasket to throw the syringe she had used on him away.

“I'm sorry, Yancy. But I won't lose you. Not when there's that much at stake. If I come back, I hope you can forgive me, little brother. But I won't lose you like I lost Jaz.”

Yancy opened his mouth to protest, but the drug was moving too damned fast through his system and the last thing he saw was the stylized Gipsy logo on her back and then nothing. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in writing this. Work has been killing me and I had no real way to write this when I was away. I have pulled away from the mainframe of the story because in the timeline I've been writing, the war is moving faster and in a different direction altogether due to the decisions made. So I suspect this will be done in maybe one or two more chapters.
> 
> Mako-I know that she doesn't really make appearances in this story due to her being more of a tech and also because she has no real drift partner until Scott is taken out of the picture. But she does get her moment in the sun and I honestly think that Herc and her would make a kick ass team. 
> 
> Raleigh-I had always planned for her to come back and pilot, but not as soon as she did in this universe. Yes, she was a bit underhanded, but Tendo's warning spurred her to be devious and take her brother's place. She has the experience. She can make the run and give her and Chuck a chance to survive, rather than making it a suicide run if it was Yancy and Chuck alone. 
> 
> Proofed, but if there are mistakes, many apologies. Title is from the Editor's "Bullets".


	6. To The Edge Of The Earth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pieces for the last run are in place and all the players are in position. They don't have time or room for mistakes. It's the last gamble and Raleigh has finally stepped up to the plate after walking away for so long. She's not going to do it this time and she's not going to do it alone. Nor will she have another death on her conscience, no matter what it takes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Penultimate chapter here! This chapter jumps right into the action and it is frantic and not pulling any punches. Raleigh in this one is simply determined and stubborn and I know it's a bit at odds with the character, but I can't see her being so detached as the canon Raleigh seemed to be at times. 
> 
> Title is from 30stm "This is war"

Chuck was busy reading the screens, mentally counting down the steps he needed to take for the procedure when he heard Yancy's footsteps entering the conn pod. Not bothering to look down from the screen, he turned to his co-pilot, ready to bawl Yancy out for taking so damned long when the words died in his throat.

“Raleigh? What in the bloody hell are _you_ doing here?” He asked, his jaw dropping at the sight of the erstwhile Gipsy pilot standing beside him.

“Making sure that you're going to come back to your father in one piece, that's what. Knowing you and my brother, you'd both kill yourselves in order to do the right thing rather than stay alive and do the deed. Now move. I'll take the right. My left side is shot.”

She replied crisply, her voice only barely hiding her nervousness at being inside a Jaeger again.

“But how are we going to drift? You've not been in a Jaeger in two years!” Chuck protested, moving all the same to take the left side.

“And you've never been in one.” She snapped back, turning on her console and getting into position, spurring him to do the same. Once she was done, she grabbed her controls and looked at him with a level expression on her face.

“I know you, Chuck. It's not like we're strangers meeting for the first time. We have a bond. It's not as strong as if we were a real family. But I'm willing to bet that if your dad and Mako could drift, we can too. Now get ready to initiate neural handshake. We don't have that much time to grab the carcass and get into the breach.”

Chuck snapped his mouth shut and did as he was told, getting himself into the controls and switching his console on. She was right. Even though she hadn't been a pilot in two years, she still had killed five more kaiju than he ever had. He also knew that she wouldn't have taken her brother's place unless she was certain of victory. But when it all came down to it, he knew that he trusted her to do the right thing. That was all that mattered now. No matter what reservations he might have had, or what worries he had about Yancy not being there, it wasn't the time. He pushed all of those thoughts out of his mind and envisioned a blank slate instead in preparation for the drift.

“Choi? It's time!”

“Rals? What is the meaning of this? I thought you were out!” Tendo exclaimed as their conn pod flared to life, signaling the drop was was about to begin.

“Not for this run, I won't be. Ready?”

“Of course! I'm counting down now.” Tendo replied, starting the countdown before tapping a few keys that made the world disappear and the Drift become everything inside her head.

~*~*~*~*

Scott sat down heavily in the only unoccupied chair in the Loccent room and covered his mouth with a bandaged hand. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. Raleigh Becket was piloting again, her voice strong and sure as she spoke to Tendo Choi not showing any trace of fear or skittishness that had been present whenever the idea had been broached to her in the past couple of years. She had gone in, the last of the old pilots in reserve and she was adamant that she was going to end the war and seal the breach once and for all. She would have to, Scott thought fiercely. She would have to, or else there would be nothing left. Herc and Mako were still out there. Chuck was with her, with their last stores of high grade bombs and the hope of destroying the Kaiju breach once and for all. If they died...

His head snapped up when he felt the Marshall lean over Tendo's shoulder, not even two feet away from where he had collapsed. He could only fathom what his former commander was thinking about at that moment. Marshall Pentecost's face was a mask as he kept his eyes on the screen, the only movement Scott could see being the Marshall's deep brown eyes tracking the movements of Striker and Gipsy on the screen. Ronin was already out of the picture, battling another kaiju in preparation to clear the path to the breach.

Swallowing down any possibly inane comment that sprung up in his mind, Scott did the same and forced himself to simply watch and record.

The Marshall inhaled sharply when he heard Raleigh's voice, but said nothing. What could he say? That he'd rather have her, an instructor and a former Jaeger pilot doing the run than her inexperienced brother? That he wasn't going to let this one go so easily? No.

Not when he was basically basing his decision on an unauthorized kaiju to human drift and the crumpled sheaf of paper he still held in his left hand. If they came out of this, they were going to have to need all of Scott's Hansen's creative efforts to spin this one into a palatable report to not just the PPDC, but to the council and the public.

As much as he hated to admit it, he was going to have to step back and hope that this wasn't going to be the run that doomed not just the PPDC, but humanity as well. Wiping his face, he looked at the screen that Tendo was studying with intense concentration, occasionally letting out a few curses in Spanish that the Marshall pretended to not understand.

“What do you see, Mr. Choi?”

“Neural handshake is strong. Almost as strong as she had with Jaz.” Tendo muttered, his surprise and awe clear despite his striving to stay focused on the moment. The Marshall nodded and leaned in closer to the mike.

“Becket and Hansen. To reiterate the plan: Your run is to the breach. Take the corpse from Gipsy and head to breach. Detonate once you are inside and do not, I repeat, do not hesitate. Clear out as soon as that happens. We don't have time for heroics. Is that clear?”

There was a soft laugh as a reply before Raleigh's voice came onto the line.

“Loud and crystal, sir. We're on our way.”

There was a loud crash and some swearing.

“We're engaging. Got a bogie on our back! Striker out!”

Scott swore and leaned forward in his chair to see that Striker indeed had a Kaiju right behind them.

“Do not waste time! Damage it and be on your way! Horizon!”

“On our way!”

~*~*~*~

“Striker at your six o'clock!” Herc barked out as he and Mako held onto the slimy carcass of the kaiju they had just killed.

“On time. Keep an eye out for more events. We're within the time frame. Horizon is on their way and Tacit has been engaging with another Kaiju by Vancouver. The electric discharge scrambled communications and are now back online with this. Crimson has been downed. Repeat: Crimson is down. Cherno is engaged in Vladivostok.” Tendo warned them.

“Understood. Mako, how are we holding up?” Herc asked, his eyes scanning the screens to make sure that there would not be any ambushes coming while they waited.

“We're in the clear for Kaiju blue saturation. At least for the time being.” She replied, checking the information on her side.

“Not long now.” Herc muttered, working to keep his voice level as they waited for Striker and the payload to appear. Which did right after they saw Striker slicing the arm off of an enraged Kaiju right before Horizon dealt the killing blow to the huge beast that had four arms and a massive spiked head with a mouthful of bloodied and horrifically sharp teeth that had damaged the right side of Striker.

“Ready for the hand off.” Mako announced as they moved Gipsy into position.

“Open channel eight for communications.”

“Done. Becket? Hansen?”

“Here. Sorry for the delay. Whenever you're ready.” Chuck replied as Striker moved into position and grabbed the slimy carcass from Gipsy, who didn't have time to react as yet another Kaiju, this one with wings, rushed up to meet them.

“Good luck. Mako, get the sword ready. Engage!”

~*~*~*~

“Let's get this fucker shut.” Raleigh muttered as they dragged the carcass down into the murky waters of the ocean, leaving the above water turmoil as they sank down, careful to keep their grip on the body.

“We've got an ETA of thirteen minutes before the next kaiju appears.” Chuck replied, his trepidation and excitement dulled under the tight grip of Raleigh's mind.

“We'll make it. We'll make it.” Raleigh repeated, forcefully. Both of them were on edge, but keeping a tight focus on their task. Raleigh could feel Chuck's steely resolve and focus through their link and she was grateful for it. It helped her subjugate her worry and nerves at doing this again, but without the same outcome as before. She wasn't going to bury another family member. Not again. Even if she ended up with her eyes bleeding, she was going to make this run a success.

She chanced a glance at Chuck and saw the sweat running down his face in rivulets and the blood in his mouth. He had bitten through his lip and didn't even notice the pain. His eyes were bloodshot and glassy and she could almost feel the pounding of his heart in her own chest. She turned to look at the screen and took a deep breath. They were going to make it.

She swallowed hard when they hit the sea floor and made a run for it. The time for words had passed. Together, they rushed towards the eerie blue glow that was the breach. Neither of them had any clear thoughts at the moment as they took the leap into the chasm.

She didn't bark out any orders at him, since Chuck had already ejected Striker's blades and thrust them through the carcass, keeping it pinned in place. Once that had been done, she turned her attention to their oxygen. It was low enough for Raleigh to let out a soft noise of panic. They were playing it too close now.

“Engage the payload! We don't have that much time!” She shouted at him, already unhooking herself from the controls and punching one of the the switch that would start the countdown.

She didn't wait for his reply, only rushing towards him and tugging at the mechanism that had been damaged, leaving him only half hooked in. She fought with it frantically, ripping it out and making Chuck moan before he clapped his hand to the wound in his side.

“ _Thirty Seconds to detonation.”_

“Get out, Rals! You gotta-” Chuck wheezed out, his eyes glassy and full of tears and blood from his cracked helmet.

“Shut up! I'm not leaving without you!” Raleigh shouted as she yanked at the last restraint and Chuck tumbled out, blood pooling out from under him. 

She didn't pause to think, only engaged the pod, getting him into the harness.

“Raleigh-”

“I'll be right behind you! I swear! Just stay with me, allright? Stay!”

She didn't wait for an answer and watched him go, only getting herself into a pod when the sequence began counting down from fifteen.

She heard the numbers as she was sealed into her own escape pod, felt the explosion go off before her, the flames licking at the pod and then...the jolt into unforgiving blackness and nothing more registered.

~*~*~*~*

Gipsy was nearly knocked over with the force of the detonation, but kept on her feet as the last kaiju was dispatched. Herc's face split into a shocked smile of disbelief, not daring to believe it until he heard the Marshall's voice.

“ _The Breach has been closed. The war is over.”_

He turned to Mako and his smile got wider at the sight of her relieved face, all of the fight and tension going out of her at the words. It was over. They had won!

“Gipsy, to the Shatterdome. Horizon, stay out and keep an eye out for escape pods. We haven't received word from Becket or Hansen yet.”

At the names, both Herc and Mako turned to look at each other in horror. 

“Sir?”

“Orders are orders. Gipsy has been compromised. Horizon is in charge of locating Becket and Hansen when they surface.” Although he didn't say the rest, the “ _if they surface”_ was heavily implied and it took all of his willpower and Mako's to not disobey to look for his son and the woman that he loved. 

“We have to go, Herc.” Mako whispered, her eyes wide as she spoke. “We won't do them any favours if we're suffering from Kaiju blue poisoning.”

Although she was being the voice of reason and more than right, Herc balked. He couldn't go. Not when he didn't know if Chuck and Raleigh were alive. If they had survived or if they were the last casualties of the war.

“Sir?”

Herc bit his lip, but nodded. She was right. They had to go.

~*~*~*~

“They'll come back, Herc.” Scott told him as they sat in the loccent room, their eyes glued to the screen as they waited for the red blips to appear on the screen.

“They'd better. Raleigh's not getting out of this one so easily.” Yancy vowed, his eyes dark with barely controlled worry and fury. Herc snorted and concentrated on not breaking the cup he held in a death grip. He had already broken a couple of them when he found out what she had done and had been told in no uncertain terms that if he couldn't control himself, he would have to leave the loccent until they found Raleigh and Chuck. Although he was trying very hard to not lose it, he was furious and was in agreement with Yancy. Raleigh had to be super lucky that her gamble had paid off again. Even if the Marshall was inclined to court-martial her again, the evidence that the decision was a sound and tactical one was there: Yancy had no previous experience and it had been no secret that the PPDC had wanted her in the conn pod ages ago. The fact that she had completed the run successfully was a huge point in her favour. No. She had made a suicide run and closed the breach. 

If anything was going to be brought against her, the fact that the larger plan was based on speculations and illegal experiments would come back and destroy the PPDC from the inside out. No. Raleigh had played a bluff and made it. 

Or at least he hoped that she did. 

The breach had been closed and the parties were going in full swing, but it was twenty-six minutes and no sign of the escape pods. Horizon was still out there and Tendo's hand was bloodstained from his crucifix cutting into his palm as he stayed at the console, watching and waiting for a sign, any sign that they had made it. The Marshall was impassive still, his inner turmoil revealed only by his slow pacing. 

Five more minutes ticked by, the seconds themselves feeling like hours when it finally happened. A flash, faint at first, but growing steadily that was quickly followed by another. Both close to Guam. 

They waited, no one daring to move until the flashes turned red and kept a steady rhythm of beeping before the code tags “Striker, Eureka. Escape Pod 1-Life detected” and “Escape Pod 2-Life detected” showed up on the radar. 

“Horizon to Alaska: Send helicopters. We've got them, sir.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First- Thanks to all that are reading and patient with this one. I have been pretty swamped with work and this was a hard one to frame, since canon is a mere suggestion here. I also had a pretty rough month at work and inspiration was a bit hard to come by. We're near the end now and the last chapter will be more or less a coda. 
> 
> Raleigh is more instinctual here and mulish. She's determined that she's not going to let anyone martyr themselves, hence her tricking of Yancy and taking his place. Although she has been out for two years, she's still training, more or less. So she wouldn't be as improbable as a pilot as say, Raleigh and his five year hiatus. 
> 
> Chuck-His drift anchor, so to speak, will be revealed later. My headcannon has drifting being possible due to shared bonds with a family and with proximity as well as experience. There has to be something for it to stick, more or less. 
> 
> Scott-He's still there, acting as a civilian liaison more than anything, since he is a retired pilot. He's not leaving anytime soon. 
> 
> That's all for notes for now. Cheers.


	7. It's A Brave New World, A Brave New World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yancy and Herc come to grips with Raleigh's gamble and Scott, of all people, ends up being the voice of reason.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end. I know it's quite a big chapter with a lot of feelings and searching through insides, but it felt right to work out the end as such. Herc and Yancy have to get their thoughts sorted out and Scott somehow ended up being a catalyst for a whole lot of things. 
> 
> Title from "This is War" by 30stm.

Yancy paced around his and Ral’s quarters, his anger morphing into gut wrenching worry as he oscillated between going to see his sister and stewing in his rage. Despite understanding her actions on an intellectual level, he couldn’t move past the deep sense of betrayal that they had caused within him. She had ambushed him and drugged him. Her own brother.

At the memory of waking up groggy and panicked, with the radar information on the wall screen and the knowledge that his sister was out there on _his_ suicide run had been alongside one of the worst times of his life. The uncertainty of seeing and the pain of knowing that she didn’t trust him or view him as an equal tormented him until he had gone to the Loccent room and stood with them waiting to get information on whether he had lost her to water like he had lost Jaz. Yancy had felt vaguely guilty for being so angry, but when he saw Herc’s temper break, he didn’t feel as bad. They both had been betrayed. In different ways, that was for certain, but Raleigh had played them and now they were waiting on her.

Yancy had been relieved, he wasn’t going to lie. When she was wheeled in, battered and twitching, he had sighed in relief. But he hadn’t gone to see her. Hadn’t asked about her. Not when the raw wound of being seen as nothing more than a defenceless child was still burning brightly in his mind.

Yancy knew that he was going to have to see her. He needed to see her. To make sure that it wasn’t permanent. But not when he was blinded and nearly choked with anger and making him want to hurt her as bad as he had hurt her. He wanted to be vicious with her.

He was adult enough to realize that he couldn’t do it. No matter what, he couldn’t throw the sacrifice Raleigh had made into his face. Not when he knew that ultimately, she only had his best interests at heart. She had always looked out for him, even at her own detriment. The fact that she had risked herself for one last gamble was telling enough in itself.

Yet he couldn't stop the tide of fury at her actions long enough to see if she had made it in one piece. Yancy snarled at the thought and threw himself into a chair and covered his eyes, pressing down on the lids of his eyes in an effort to clear his mind.

He sat like that for awhile until the sound of the door opening made him take his hand down to look at the intruder, a sharp retort at his lips. When he saw that it was Scott Hansen though, it died on his lips and he straightened out and stood up.

Even in his overwrought state, he knew better than to piss off the younger Hansen. The man had a mouth on him and was super sweet on Raleigh, even if she didn’t do anything to encourage it and Yancy was more than a hundred percent positive that she had a thing for Herc. It wouldn’t do to antagonize him at all. Not if he wanted to survive the encounter intact.

“Are you going to see your sister? Or are you going to sit here and seethe until she gets released?” Scott asked, limping into the room and plonking himself down onto Raleigh’s desk, heedless of the schematics and paperwork that was spread over the surface of it. He opened his mouth, but then shut it at the knowing glint he saw in the other man’s grey eyes. It was an obvious challenge, a desire to rile him up and Yancy decided he wasn’t going to take it.

“I don’t see how any of that is your business, Hansen. How's Chuck doing?” Yancy replied tightly, deflecting clumsily with a question about his supposed drift partner.

Scott laughed, softly and quietly and with just an edge of malice in it.

“ Chuck's banged up, but he'll recover. As for Raleigh's and your little battle,considering that she broke a whole lot of regulations and survived a suicide run you and my nephew wouldn’t have, it is my business. Not to mention the fact that I’m pretty sure she’s been with my brother on and off for the past while, it is my business. Who do you think is going to have to gloss everything over once the public stops partying and starts asking questions? It’s not going to be you. So what’s it going to be?”

Yancy scrubbed at his face before he turned to glare at Scott.

“She betrayed me. She just made the decision to do whatever she thought was right, rather than actually trusting me to be able to make my own decisions. Right now, I want to slap that sanctimonious cow’s face into next week, injured or not. What do you think?”

Scott didn’t say anything after that outburst. He only tightened the loose strip of the bandage that was around his hand, careful to wrap it up neatly and tightly before he replied.

“It doesn’t matter what I think. You’re going to do whatever it is that you think is right. Right now, you’re acting on emotion, rather than logic. What she did, I’m not going to deny, was pretty shitty. I get it. Your older sibling acted without consulting you because they wanted to protect you because they know better. I know all about that. I mean, look at who my oldest brother is.”

Scott snorted and shook his head.

“I know you heard stuff about me. What I used to be like back in the day and how Herc basically keeps me on a leash. It's not a secret. Herc was the one to vouch for me when I was so hung over that I could barely see in that Manila drop we did with your sisters. He then proceeded to lock me up to dry me out before threatening me with a court martial.”

Yancy’s eyes widened almost comically when he heard that. Although he knew that Herc Hansen had made his career in the Australian Air Force before making the switch over to the PPDC, Yancy hadn’t realized how much of a straight arrow he truly was. The fact that he was willing to kick his own brother out of the PPDC was just mind-boggling to Yancy. No matter how much Jaz and Raleigh pissed him off, he wouldn’t dream of doing that. They were family and there were lines that you simply couldn’t cross.

“Yeah, that was my reaction. Until he actually did it. Worst weekend of my life, to be quite honest and most of it, I spent it cursing him out and trying to take swings at him. I didn’t connect a single time and after I was clear headed, I was still pissed. But I could understand why he did it after we drifted again. Herc’s not a bad guy. Overbearing, controlling sometimes, yes. But all he does is because he gives that much of a fuck and between you and me, I’d rather have an elder sibling that gives a fuck rather than one that fucks off without a word.”

Scott fell quiet and looked down at his bandaged hand. He sighed heavily as he lifted his bare hand and rubbed his forehead.

“I'm not saying you have to go over there and kiss her ass. But what I'm telling you is that she made a pretty heavy sacrifice not just for you, but for all of us. For all those people out there who don't give a fuck and don't know what the fuck we really face out there. She never would have gone into battle if the stakes hadn't been that high. She saved us, but you were her impetus. That's all I gotta say about this. It's up to you what comes next.”

Scott stood up then, wincing slightly as the injuries he had suffered during his last run protested. Yancy watched him, but didn't make a move to help him. He understood pride and just watched the laborious process as Scott got to his feet, saluted and walked out, leaving Yancy with his thoughts and the uneasy feeling that Scott, the biggest asshole he knew, maybe had a good point.

And if Scott Hansen was making sense...Then maybe he was going to have to sit down and recalibrate everything that he had been stewing over up until that point.

~*~*~*~

Herc sat between the beds in the Medical Wing and waited. His elbows rested on his knees and his fingers were interlaced together. His eyes were fixed on the far wall, but he didn’t see anything. It was a good thing that there was a clock in the room, or else he would have been sure that time had stopped and he was stuck in limbo, simply waiting for Chuck and Raleigh to come back. He sighed heavily and sat up straight, his eyes still fixed ahead.

He didn’t know how long exactly he had been in the room. Only that he was pretty sure that at least four hours had passed since they had been brought in and maybe one since they had brought both of them into the room. He knew that he should get to his quarters and decompress and get some rest. It wasn’t as if he had escaped his own mission unscathed. But he couldn’t fathom the idea of leaving them alone for even a moment. He didn’t want Chuck to wake up alone. Nor did he want to see Raleigh like she had been right after Knifehead and Alaska.

The memory of her, wide-eyed, broken and barely clinging to her sanity was one that he had never forgotten. No matter how much he had tried to excise it from his mind. It haunted him. Especially since there had been nothing he could have done at the time. Herc did still blame himself. Despite having proof that he would have been ill-equipped to do anything for her other than take care of the practicalities and stay with her when Yancy couldn’t.

Yancy. Herc frowned and rubbed his eyes. That was a tricky situation all around. Although Herc’s own anger had been put on hold, Yancy’s had been exacerbated. He had, as far as Scott had hinted that time he had painfully limped in to bring Herc some food, books and paperwork, not mentioned his sister once. He had asked after Chuck, Scott had offered as they had sat there for half an hour while Scott composed media packets and Herc looked over reports. But Raleigh was persona non grata in her younger brother’s mind.

An irony that neither of the brothers missed, since ultimately, Raleigh’s sacrifices weren’t going to mean anything if Yancy refused to forgive her.

“He’s seriously pissed. I honestly never thought that he'd ever be that ticked off at her. But he was.”

Herc frowned. “That's pretty shitty of the kid. We all know she never wanted to be a pilot anymore. The fact that she did it for him-”

Scott had laughed and sat back, his fingers twiddling with a pen as he looked at his brother.

“You're thinking like an older sibling. Like she thinks. But for a younger brother...No. He feels betrayed and disrespected. He thinks that Raleigh sees him like the little kid that used to tag after her and Jaz. For him, it's not that simple.”

Herc wanted to snap back at that, but Scott's knowing glance stoppered the words. Scott was right and by the rueful expression on his brother's face, Herc was damned aware that Scott was thinking about Manila and what happened after.

He opened his mouth and shook his head. What could he say?

“Don't worry. I did the dirty work for both of you. He might take awhile, but at least he's not a fucking mule. I think we've got the market cornered.”

Herc snorted at that, making Scott grin and shrug. It was true. None of them could deny it. The Hansens were a bloody stubborn lot, not even adding Angela's calm demeanour had gotten that trait out of Chuck.

“He'll come around. Sooner or later, but he will. Now shut up and get to work. I need signatures on some of this stuff.”

After Scott had left, it felt like time had stopped again like it had stopped for him the minute that he had set eyes on the battered and broken bodies that the medics had wheeled past them. Raleigh’s face had been ashen where it wasn’t bruised or bloodied, her left eyelid twitching slightly in that moment he had seen her. The left arm was splinted and he could see burns in the places were her camo green suit had cracked or burned open. The helmet, he later found out, was in pieces around her head and Herc was positive that if it hadn’t been broken, her head would have been crushed. The impact of the explosion had made her head slam against the escape pod, cracking the perspex and Tendo had speculated if it hadn’t been so damned strong, she would have drowned.

Chuck had been unconscious, a thick padding of bandage pressed up to his side and half-saturated with blood. His face was also the same as Raleigh’s: Ashen where it wasn’t covered in bruises, contusions and blood; his suit cracked and his exposed skin cracked or scraped raw.

Although he was furious with her still, he couldn’t act on that anger that had coalesced into something icy that was pushed in the farthest corner of his mind. They had to do more waiting now that she and Chuck had come back. Although Raleigh hadn’t been as badly injured as Chuck had been, she had suffered head trauma. Trauma serious enough to have the medical staff looking grim until the scans had come back clear. Chuck had simply exhausted all of his body's resources, with all the blood lost and the injuries he had sustained before being manhandled into an escape pod.

“Nothing permanent, but we have to let them rest and recover. They will be okay.”

Those words had sounded so sweet in his ears, but the reality was sinking in. When was he going to stop giving up so much to the war? Even now that it was over, he still had to give-

A quiet moan coming from Chuck's bed stopped that train of thought, making Herc leap from his seat and go to his son's bed in time to see Chuck's eyes flutter a few times before they finally opened. They were glassy, bloodshot and shot through with confusion and pain. But to Herc, they were the most beautiful sight he had seen that day.

Chuck swallowed a couple of times, licking his lips with a dry tongue before he finally looked at his father and smiled weakly.

“We did it, Dad.” He whispered, his voice sounding as faint as an exhalation, but Herc heard it. “We did it.”

Herc smiled and leaned over to kiss his son's forehead. Something he hadn't done ever since Chuck had been eleven.

“You did, Chuck. You did and I'm so proud of you.”

Chuck laughed faintly before reaching up with a trembling hand and grabbing at his dad's shoulder weakly.

“Thank you.”

It was no louder, but Herc heard it as loudly as if Chuck had shouted it.

“Tell her. She loves you.”

Chuck sighed and his eyes dropped shut, his breathing evening out and signalling he was out again. Herc pressed another kiss to his son's forehead before lowering Chuck's hand onto the bed and extricating himself from his grasp.

He straightened up and rubbed at the tears gathering in his eyes. How could he stay angry at her when she had helped save him? His only son. He couldn't. Not after that.

Herc stood at his son's bedside for several quiet moments, trying to rein in his emotions when a quietly amused voice broke the silence in the room.

“He shouldn't have told you before I got the chance.”

Herc nearly jumped, but old training held fast. He simply turned around and looked at Raleigh, who was looking at him with a loopy smile on her face. Her right eye was hazy, her left was bandaged and her face was bruised all out, but to him, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever beheld in that moment.

“It doesn't matter. I know now. That's what is important. You and him being here. You took a huge gamble out there. I should still be furious at you for that.”

Raleigh frowned and Herc moved fast to take her uninjured hand and squeeze it gently.

“I know. But I couldn't just not do anything. Not when it came down to the wire. Even though Yancy might never forgive me for taking his only chance to be a pilot.”

She wet her lips and weakly squeezed his hand.

“I had to keep them safe, Herc. Both of them! I had to-” She broke off, her voice breaking into a gasp of pain that had Herc gently stroking her hair back to help her ride through it. After a few moments of silence, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly, her body relaxing as it all passed.

“I had to do it. Even though I know he hates me now. I'd rather have him alive and hating me, than dead. Just like I'd rather have you angry at me, than-”

“I'm not angry anymore.” Herc cut her off, his voice low and soft as he kept on stroking her hair.

“How can I be angry at the woman I love when she kept my son and the world alive?”

Herc's voice hitched slightly as he finally voiced his feelings.

“I can't. Not when I can see it all too clearly, what you have done. I would have done the same.” Herc whispered before he kissed her.

~*~*~*~*~*

Raleigh was staring at her brush, her hair a tangled fall down her back when someone knocked on the door of the room she had been moved to four days before. Chuck was still stuck in the intensive care unit, but she had been released after two days of staying awake and passing all of the cognitive tests that the doctors had thought to throw at her. Although the worst of the burns and cuts still needed monitoring, she had been assured that she wouldn't stay in hospital for much longer and had moved her to her own room.

A small blessing, since it had gotten increasingly awkward to share a room with Chuck. Knowing how each other thought was great in battle, but not when they had to share close quarters and avoid thinking about all the secrets that they knew about each other. Especially when some of them touched upon their love lives and pasts.

“Come in.”

She had been expecting Herc or Scott or Mako to enter, but to her surprise and amazed joy, it was Yancy that entering the room, his expression carefully blank as he took in the sight of her.

She was painfully aware of his anger at her and how he felt about the situation. She knew she would have been angry enough to spit nails if Jaz had done it to her. Even knowing the whys and hows, she would have taken ages to finally come around.

Yancy though, wasn't as intractable as her. It had only been a week and change since the battle had taken place. If it had been her, she would have probably remained angry for a good month. But she wasn't going to push him, despite wanting desperately to have her little brother back. No. She knew that if she pushed, he would back away and she would maybe even lose him completely and that was the last thing that she wanted.

No. She would simply hear him out. Even if she was horribly afraid he'd tell her to fuck off and never speak to him again.

Yancy himself looked at her and bit his lip at the sight of her bruised and bandaged, but standing on her feet. He had to admit that despite his anger keeping him away, part of his reluctance had also come from the fear of seeing her as she had been after Jaz had died. Despite getting regular reports from Herc, Chuck, Scott and Mako, he couldn't believe it.

But now, seeing her pale, but animated face he was convinced. Even if she was still banged up, she wasn't vacant or a wraith. She was alive and it was that knowledge that made him step forward and carefully wrap her into an enveloping embrace.

“I'm...I'm glad you're alive. I sat there, angry with you for taking my place. I was furious and hurt that you saw me as a defenceless child.”

“Yancy-”

“I know.” Yancy interrupted her, stepping back, but still keeping his hands on her shoulders.

“I know why you did it and how much it cost to let Chuck into your head again. I know. I'm hurt. It's going to take a bit...But you're my family. Just like Chuck and Herc and that insightful asshole of Scott. You're all I have. I won't...I won't let it come between us.”

Raleigh's mouth trembled as she finally met his eyes. Yancy's mouth tilted to the left in a half smile before he reached over and wiped the tears spilling freely from her eyes.

“You're my sister. Nothing's going to change that, allright? Nothing.”

Raleigh nodded, her throat too tight to be able to say anything else.

“Hand over the brush. Let me braid your hair.”

_END._

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a completely different take on the war and I had fun writing it. Thank you to all that read and commented. It wasn't really my usual kind of work and characters that I never expected (Scott and Yancy) to write, ended up coming up, which was a surprise. 
> 
> I realize that there was a whole lot of one on one kitchen sink scenes, but the action's done and everyone needs to unsnarl what they went through before the next of the phase begins. 
> 
> I also know that there's a whole lot of touching between characters, but touch is very important in establishing a connection and to reassure another person. It was one thing I did notice in the movie that Chuck and Herc only touch when they are angry at each other, except in the end. And Raleigh keeps himself so closed and not until the end that he and Mako really touch. There are parallels with the Hansens and he doesn't really touch anyone playfully or with tenderness after Yancy dies. He touched Mako after it is all over and it is telling how much his shell breaks when he does. 
> 
> Although my Raleigh isn't as closed off and does touch people, there is more gravitas with all the people she emotionally/physically touches. 
> 
> Sorry for the long notes. Just thought of this. 
> 
> Cheers.

**Author's Note:**

> Scott Hansen-Michael Fassbender is my fancast and the man is super charming, hence Scott turning out the way he did. More of him will follow.  
> FemRaleigh-Kathryn Winnick, because she's that tough and yet can show vulnerability. 
> 
> Instead of five years, there are only two years of respite and the war gets amped up and then some. More tags and characters will be added as the story incorporates them.


End file.
